STEVE Cotterill's men are bracing themselves for a nerve-wracking bout of white-water rafting as they jet out to Austria tomorrow.

For the third time in four years, Cotterill is taking his Clarets squad to small but spectacular Obertraun in a bid to ensure his players are in tip-top condition for the start of the new Championship campaign.

Obertraun, some 40 kilometres east of Salzburg, may only be tiny village surrounded by the magnificent Austrian Alps, but the BSFZ sporting base is ranked among the very best in Europe.

The complex, which has been used by Real Madrid and Juventus, includes full and half-sized pitches, a pitch-sized gymnasium, athletics track, outdoor swimming pool and tennis courts, along with on-site accommodation and catering.

But while the Clarets will be getting stuck into training and two fixtures against Romanian Divizia A outfit FC Brasov and Cypriot top flight outfit Apollon Limassol FC, there will be plenty of time for recuperation and relaxation, which will include taking in the stunning local scenery.

Obertraun is wedged in between the awesome Dachstein mountain range alongside Lake Hallstatt, which makes a picture postcard setting for the Clarets.

Back in 2004, Cotterill said: "I have never come to a place that is so picturesque.

"Here in Obertraun the facilities are fantastic, the food is tremendous, the people couldn't be more polite and the accommodation we are in is first class."

In previous visits to Obertraun, Cotterill's timetable has included 7am alarm calls for dawn runs through the woods.

But the gruelling slogs have also been combined with tours to the region's famous ice caves, while the players have bravely took part in white-knuckle, white-water rafting.

Burnley's opening fixture in Austria is on Tuesday against FC Brasov at Abtenau, a venue 28 miles south of Salzburg.

They then head further south to Bad Goisern next Friday for their clash with Apollon Limassol FC.