FORMER Burnley defender Paul France has returned to Turf Moor after more than two decades away. He is now deputy chief executive of Burnley FC In The Community.

France, who was a part of the 1992 promotion-winning squad under Jimmy Mullen, has spent 20 years running Huddersfield Town’s community programme.

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Now he is eager to make a big impact in his second career with the Clarets. He said: “I have been back a few times since I left and it feels like I am back on familiar territory, although things have changed a little bit around here.

“One of the big attractions is the way the football club and the community programme work so closely together. While we are a registered charity, independent from the club, you would not know that if you walked through the door.

“I am aware of a few problems in the past with Burnley’s community schemes. But Neil Hart (head of community) has done a fantastic job in a short space of time.

“What he has developed here, and the growth of the organisation in the past 12 to 18 months, is phenomenal.

“Due to that growth, Neil’s time is precious and he is involved in so many things. So my role is primarily to help him on a strategic level and develop new opportunities.”

France played nine times for the Clarets, signing in 1990.