ANDERS Lindegaard insists he's a 'loyal soldier to Burnley' after making his Clarets bow in the 1-1 draw with Aberdeen.

The former Manchester United man hadn't played a competitive fixture since conceding six for Preston in a League Cup tie with Newcastle in October 2016.

But when Nick Pope suffered a shoulder injury early in the Europa League second qualifying round first leg tie at Pittodrie, Lindegaard was called on.

He was powerless to stop Gary-Mackay Steven scoring from the spot but made a couple of crucial second half saves before Sam Vokes' late equaliser.

Lindegaard admitted he had hoped to start the game, but expressed his loyalty to the club.

"I kind of hoped to play the game from the beginning because Nick has just come back from holiday and Tom is injured," the Dane said.

"I think I’ve had a pretty strong pre-season. I want to play every game, but I’m a loyal soldier to Burnley and I’m here on their terms."

Lindegaard's chance arrived when Pope suffered what looked like a serious shoulder injury, just two days after returning to the club after being part of the England squad at the World Cup this summer.

"For Nick it is so unfortunate and so unlucky," added the 34-year-old.

"I’m devastated for him, you could see how focussed he was coming back from the short break he had, he got a lot of energy from being with the national team. I feel very sorry for him."

Burnley head to Turf Moor for the return leg next week in the driving seat thanks to Vokes' 80th minute strike, which turned a potentially difficult night for the Clarets into a good one.

"It’s not catastrophic, it’s a decent result, it’s always good to get an away goal," said Lindegaard.

"We could have pushed for a second goal but it can be funny with these European matches, it’s different, the referee handles things differently to the Premier League, everyone gets a bit nervy because you want the away goal, there’s a special feel to these European games.

"We’re confident, we had a great season (last year), we’ve got a lot of quality in the team but the job is only half done.

"It’s still open and anything can happen in these European games, we’ve got to approach the game with a lot of professionalism."

It was an historic night at Pittodrie as the Clarets made their European return after a 51-year absence, and Lindegaard felt you could feel the sense of occasion in Scotland.

"You get the feel off it when you’re in the stadium," he added. "You especially get the feel for how big it is for the club when you meet fans and see the fans. It means a lot to the fans and to the club.

"We have such a good group that automatically means it means a lot to the players as well.

"Not all English teams take it seriously to play in this tournament from this stage but we do, it’s important, our whole approach to it is very serious."