UNFORTUNATELY it’s looking more and more likely that Joey Barton is going to sign for Rangers and take his talent to Ibrox, which is going to be a real shame for Burnley.

I feel we should have offered Joey a new contract earlier on, it was clear after Christmas what an important cog in this team he was becoming and in the end I think he was the inspiration behind our title-winning team.

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Had we got a new deal for him sorted earlier in the season then we wouldn’t be having this now.

There’s no doubt in my mind, and I know most of the fans feel the same, that he is going to be very, very difficult to replace now.

I’m sure Sean Dyche will have something up his sleeve, and how he didn’t win the LMA Championship manager of the year I will never know. Instead that honour went to Brighton’s Chris Hughton, even though they didn’t go up and Burnley won the league!

Dyche was clearly the outstanding manager in the division, as proven by the fact he won the title. The 23-game unbeaten run that secured promotion and top spot should also have convinced the panel that there really was only one winner, and that was Dyche.

I was very disappointed in the England performance against Turkey at the Etihad on Sunday.

Ok, it was only a friendly but these games are important for your build-up for the Euros in France and although they got a win it wasn’t convincing and they will need to be better when the tournament starts.

I played against Turkey myself many years ago and I will never forget my memories of that game. I had a clash with the Turkish goalkeeper and the whole Turkish team then all started spitting into my face.

I was absolutely covered in spit and when I got back to my club I had developed an infection and had a temperature of 105.

It looks like Burnley will be coming up against Jose Mourinho next season, which could be interesting after the game against Chelsea last season.

I felt sorry for Louis van Gaal, getting sacked and replaced by Mourinho right after he’d won the FA Cup on Saturday.

As Jimmy Greaves would have said, "it’s a funny old game", but to be honest he wasn’t going to win over the United fans and their position and performances in the league this season tell you why.

I’d like to pay tribute to Michael Duff as well today. He has hung up his boots after 383 games for the Clarets. He also played in the emerald green of Northern Ireland, just like myself, and I’m very proud of him the way he has conducted himself through his incredible career.

He is going into the coaching side of the game now and I wish him all the very best for the future.