BURNLEY’S Europa League veteran Johann Berg Gudmundsson believes the Clarets are ready to take on the challenge of European football.

Winger Gudmundsson was pivotal in the club’s rise to seventh in the Premier League this season - setting a new Burnley benchmark of eight top flight assists as he became chief creator in Robbie Brady’s absence.

While most of this Burnley squad are European virgins, Gudmundsson is an experienced campaigner, having made 26 Europa League appearances in his time with AZ Alkmaar in Holland, twice reaching the quarter-finals.

AZ were knocked out in the last eight by Valencia in 2011/12 and by Benfica in 2013/14, but the Iceland ace knows what it takes to succeed in Europe and he’s confident the Clarets have the key ingredients, even if he accepts the schedule could ask some testing questions of the squad next term as they look to balance European commitments with the Premier League.

“I think we’re ready for it, we know it’s going to be difficult, playing Thursday-Sunday is tough,” Gudmundsson said. “But equally it’s going to be a lot of enjoyment, you go to different countries and see different styles of football.

“It’s going to be a nice experience. We train really hard so instead of a hard training session it’s just going to be a football match.

“We’re not going to be complaining about playing more football matches but we know it’s going to be tough in the Premier League because you’re playing a few days before that. It’s about managing it, using the squad a little bit more.”

Burnley were among the favourites for relegation at the start of the season, but they have defied the doubters to secure a their highest league position since the 1973/74 campaign.

Gudmundsson puts the credit for that success down to everyone at the club and he insists the players have enjoyed it as much as the fans have.

“It’s a credit to everybody, it’s been a great season for us, to be seventh in this league is fantastic for a club like Burnley,” he added. “It’s been a great journey and something the fans have enjoyed and we have enjoyed.”

The Clarets have certainly had a memorable season, spending only five of the 38 Premier League gameweeks outside the top seven, and six of those were before October.

Gudmundsson admits Europe was never in the players’ thoughts at the start of the season, but victory over champions Chelsea on the opening day gave the Clarets a shot in the arm.

That gave them the momentum that was rarely halted during the season and while chants of ‘we’re all going on a European tour’ were first heard in the win at Bournemouth back in November, it was still a dream then, only turning to reality when Burnley won five games in a row in March and early April.

“It’s not something we thought about in the beginning, the first aim for us is staying in the league and then everything on top of that is a bonus,” the Iceland international said.

“The first game gave us a massive boost, to go to the champions and beat them showed we’re a great team and we have shown that throughout the season.

“The fact we’re going to finish is seventh is a massive achievement and something will look back on in history and see that it was an unbelievable job by the players and the staff.”