Burnley new boy Shackell insists he's at Turf Moor for the long term (From Lancashire Telegraph)

Burnley new boy Shackell insists he's at Turf Moor for the long term

10:41am Friday 6th July 2012 in Sport By Chris Flanagan , Sports reporter

JASON Shackell says he is ready to settle down at one club after revealing that he decided to join Burnley from Derby County because the Clarets made him feel wanted.

Burnley boss Eddie Howe, pictured right, had spent the early part of the summer trying to sign Shackell, a year after missing out on the central defender’s signature when he left Barnsley for Derby, and was able to complete a £1.1m deal late on Wednesday night.

The 28-year-old has signed a four-year contract with the Clarets and hopes he will have a long and fruitful spell at Turf Moor after represent-ing five clubs in the past four seasons.

And Shackell was impressed by Howe’s desire to bring him to Burnley, at a time when Derby surprisingly opted to cash in on a player who had been one of their star performers last term – to the anger of many Rams fans.

“It makes a massive difference when a manager wants you so much,” said Shackell, who will link up with his new team-mates when they return for the first day of pre-season training this morning.

“I sort of knew something was about last year but it never quite happened then.

“Everybody likes to feel wanted. He’s been keen to bring me in and that’s been nice.

“And once I met him and listened to what he had to say I was very impressed.

“Everybody already knows he’s a young manager with big ambition. I’m sure he wants to manage at the highest level and I want to be part of it.”

Asked whether he was surprised by Derby’s decision to sell him, having stood in as their captain in the latter stages of last term, Shackell said: “You never know what’s going on behind the scenes at a football club, you just keep your head down.

“I think they were keen to get a bit of cash and try to improve other areas but that’s done now, I’m looking forward and focusing on having a good few years at Burnley.

“I’ll be looking forward to playing against them. I did have a good year there and I got on very well with the lads, but I’m looking forward now to this next chapter in my career and the upcoming season.

“To sign for four years Burnley have shown a lot of commitment to me and hopefully I can do the same back. Hopefully it will work out to be a beneficial move for me.

“I’ve moved around a lot so I’m ready really to settle down.

“I want to do well and hopefully we can do well as a team and I won’t be moving on in another year’s time.”

Shackell represented Wolves on 12 occasions during their promotion season in 2008/09 but spent a large chunk of that campaign back on loan at first club Norwich.

He then moved to Doncaster on loan the season afterwards and impressed enough for Barnsley to snap him up on a permanent deal two years ago, before Derby captured him for £750,000 last summer.

Shackell was made Rams skipper when Shaun Barker sustained a long-term injury last term, having previously captained Barnsley and Norwich.

But, although he said he would be happy to take on a similar role at Turf Moor if required, he stressed that it was not something that was in his immediate thoughts. Chris McCann is the club’s current skipper.

“That’s not a question at the minute,” he said. “Obviously I’ve enjoyed being captain at my previous clubs and if it ever came about it would be fantastic.

“But at the minute I’m just looking to get my head down and make sure I’m playing and playing well.”

Howe, however, has suggested that Shackell’s experience and leadership qualities were part of the reason for bringing the player to the club.

"It's something that we looked at, that we perhaps needed more in the squad,” said the Clarets boss.

“I think everyone's aware that we had a young squad last season and at times I think we missed a leader on the pitch, especially when Duffo (Michael Duff) was injured. You need that experience and that vocal point to your team.

"We do have leaders within that, David Edgar and obviously Chris McCann, but I feel Jason will add a lot to the group in that sense.

"Jason is somebody I've admired for a long time for various reasons.

“Firstly he's a fantastic professional and has the right character.

“Secondly his playing ability. He's an excellent player, composed, good on the ball and a good size.

"It was a long, drawn out process for various reasons. We wanted to wait for the right one and we certainly felt Jason came under that bracket.

“We wanted to put all our thoughts and energies in to trying to get him to this football club.

“He was worth waiting for and we're delighted to get him."