WINNING the Championship title last season was absolutely brilliant for Burnley, but the rewards for the club are really sensational.

I know they have had to pay out for add-ons to fees they paid for Andre Gray and James Tarkowski which total £3.5million, but that is only small change to the club.

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For football finance expert Rob Wilson reckons the Clarets will gain £130m before they even kick a ball and by the end of the season they will have amassed more than £170m.

I must say the board of directors at Turf Moor did a great job in clearing the debts and redeveloping the Gawthorpe training facilities, using the money they earned from the club’s last spell in the Premier League in 2014-15.

It certainly looks good for the Clarets as they prepare to take on the likes of Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal.

The European Championships are nearly here and, of course, I will be glued to the TV to watch my wee country Northern Ireland.

Manager Michael O’Neill played for his country, so he knows what it means to wear the shirt, and he has been brilliant with the players. It is a great achievement to qualify for a major tournament for the first time since 1986.

They are in Group C and I strongly believe we have a good chance of progressing to the knockout stages.

Two of my sons, Jonathan and Darren, fly out to France this week and have their tickets for all three of the Group C matches.

I just hope they have brushed up on their French!

We have Tom Heaton, Sam Vokes and Stephen Ward in France representing Burnley for England, Wales and the Republic of Ireland respectively.

I wish them all the best and hope that they all have a good tournament.

Regarding England, I read with interest that Alan Shearer has had a dig at the defenders Roy Hodgson has in his squad.

The former international striker – who was top scorer with five goals at Euro 96 as England went out in the semi-finals – says he would like to face them and they wouldn’t worry him.

I agree with Mr Shearer and I would have has no worries about facing the Three Lions defence either.

That doesn’t bode well for Hodgson and could mean the England squad will be coming home from France a bit earlier than expected.