Iqbal hoping to shine

The Farsley Celtic midfielder is aiming to bridge the gap between non-league football and the Nationwide League by impressing Clarets boss Stan Ternent and earning himself a deal.

Iqbal, 22, has spent a week training with the Clarets first team as the build up to the new season continues.

And the confident youngster now hopes to win a place on the upcoming Isle of Man trip to show Ternent he is worthy of a professional contract.

Iqbal said: "I'm enjoying it and I think it's going really well so far. I think Burnley have been impressed by me and what I am looking forward to now is playing.

"There have been no games yet, so it's been all about hard work running, swimming, and doing plenty of ball work.

"But the players have all told me to hang in there. They have told me when the games start it's all about topping up your fitness, not all-out training.

"Next week there is the tour to the Isle of Man and hopefully I can play for the first team.

"That's when I can see for definite if I am comfortable in the team."

Iqbal's trial with the Clarets is already headline news back in Farsley. The midfielder has found himself hunted down by the Asian TV network ZTV as he bids to make a name for himself in the game.

But Ternent is still finalising his plans for the Island trip, during which there could be several more new faces on show.

New signings Mo Camara, Lee Roche, Brian Jensen and Luke Chadwick will all be on board for the three-game tour, which includes initial games against Blackpool and Wrexham, followed by another 90 minutes later in the week, dependant on other results.

And the canny Clarets chief is reserving judgement on Iqbal until later this week as he continues to put the player through his paces.

Ternent said: "Amjad has done okay, but it's still early days and you need to see more of a player before making your mind up.

"We haven't played any games yet and that's when you can step things up. We will do some ball work this week and take things from there."