ANDERS Lindegaard believes he has a debt of gratitude to Burnley and Sean Dyche after making his long-awaited first team football return last week.

The former Manchester United man hadn’t played a competitive game for 640 days until he came off the bench in the 1-1 draw with Aberdeen at Pittodrie last Thursday.

Lindegaard’s last two games had seen him concede 11 times in his final two outings during a difficult spell at Preston North End.

But since signing for the Clarets last September he has rediscovered his enthusiasm for the game and when Nick Pope went down with a shoulder injury in the Europa League second qualifying round first leg tie, Lindegaard was called on for the first time as Burnley player.

“It’s been a year and a half, it felt fantastic,” he said of his return to competitive action. “I’ve had a rough couple of years for various reasons.

“Coming back in was probably not the busiest of nights for a goalkeeper but I’m still proud of playing at the highest level again, it means a lot to me.”

Lindegaard was signed as a free agent by Dyche early on last season, when Tom Heaton suffered his own dislocated shoulder.

The 34-year-old was handed a deal until the end of the season and although he didn’t feature and lost his place on the bench to the returning Heaton towards the end of the campaign, he was handed a one-year extension.

He admits training hard through the week and not then being involved at the weekend can be tough, but said he was loyal to the Clarets.

“It can get difficult, especially when you’re not involved on any level at the weekend,” he said.

“But I owe a lot more than people can understand to Burnley Football Club, to Sean Dyche, to the management team and to my teammates. I’m a loyal servant to this club.”

Lindegaard has admitted that the years before moving to Burnley hadn’t worked out for ‘private reasons’.

But he is now enjoying his football again and he added: “Parts in the past have been difficult, it’s finally resolved, I’m only looking one way and that’s forward.”

He has certainly been part of a competitive goalkeeping group with the Clarets, with Pope and Heaton now both England internationals, while Adam Legzdins is also part of the squad.

But Lindegaard insists the squad as a whole is a good one to be part of and he praised the support and encouragement of his teammates.

“It means a lot, it’s a good environment and they’re all very good lads,” he said.

“It’s a lot easier to come in and play when you’ve got a squad like we have, it’s such a good dynamic in the squad and such a supportive dynamic in the squad.

“Everybody wants everyone to be the best they can be for the club and for each other, it’s a really good squad to be a part of. It makes everything easier.”