STEVE Cotterill has revealed how new signing David Unsworth turned down approaches from Championship rivals Leicester City and Stoke City to join the Clarets.

The Chorley-born former England and Everton defender is expected to make his debut in the Carling Cup clash at Grimsby Town tonight after completing a one-year deal yesterday.

And Cotterill admitted that, although the 33-year-old is likely to be behind the rest of the squad in terms of match fitness, he was delighted to have a player of Unsworth's experience on board.

"When you get an old pro, they can be good for you. When you get a good, old pro, they can be very good for you," the Burnley boss said.

"He has said and done all the right things, as you would expect so far, but the good thing about it was that in pre-season when he was talking with Leicester and talking with Stoke he kept coming back and he wanted to join us.

"That may have been geographical, which highly like it was, but when you do get a bit older you don't want to travel all the way round the country, and the deal suited us both really.

"It's certainly not a deal that's going to break us, and it's not going to make David rich either, but I don't think it's about that for him now."

Cotterill added that his transfer dealings may not be over before the window closes at the end of the month, and revealed he is in talks with two players.

However, he added: "There's nothing happening on a couple of fronts.

"I've had to be patient. I'm waiting for them because it's with them and it's with other clubs other than the ones they're at."

For the moment, at least, Cotterill is concentrating on upping Unsworth's fitness levels.

"It's probably a bit early for him (tonight) but having said that but he might get better as the game goes on," he said.

"It will be straight in at the deep end.

"He's been training by himself, which is obviously not ideal.

"But I think that what's happened for him is that a few promises haven't come to the fore.

"Without a shadow of a doubt David Unsworth will be fitter in a month's time than he is it at this moment in time.

"But we've got to get him there. It's not ideal for him and it's not ideal for us.

"We've got to make sure we try to, if possible, nurture him through his early part of his Burnley career.

"I see him as part of a squad. I don't know what I'm going to be looking at at this moment in time, if I'm honest. I don't know where he's at with his fitness levels. I have said that too him.

"After tonight I'll have a better guage. But in the meantime we may have to bring him back for a few afternoons' work."

Cotterill added: "We nearly signed him earlier on in pre-season, but he still had something going on with a Premier League club, a la Stephen Jordan really.

"And then when I moved on, he became available a week later, and then we couldn't do too much about it.

"We're light on our defenders.

"Ideally I'd like another but I would like it to be a right back, that's the bottom line. My thoughts as regards all that don't really change.

"But there aren't too many options anyway, and that's what makes it so difficult.

"A lot of clubs are looking for the same players.

"There's an absolute lack of defenders out there.

"We harp on all the time about a right back ... how good was Michael Duff on Saturday? So we should count ourselves very lucky for where we are at this moment in time.

"I know ideally Michael doesn't want to play there. Ideally he wants to play centre half. But that's the way it is at the moment."