DEVELOPMENT squad boss Michael Jolley believes Burnley's Premier League Cup experience has been a 'lifeline' this season.

Burnley Under-23s have played eight games in the competition this term, beating Bournemouth and Watford at Turf Moor to reach the group stage where they faced Sunderland, Blackburn Rovers and Cardiff City home and away.

Although they failed to qualify they ended the campaign with a 5-3 win over Sunderland on Monday. That result was a sign of the progress made for Burnley, who as a Category 3 academy sit outside a competitive games programme other than their Premier League Cup fixtures, although that could change next season if an Elite Player Performance Plan (EPPP) audit this month proves successful.

"We hope to have a full league programme next season at Category 2 and hopefully have this as an add-on," Jolley said of the Premier League Cup competition.

"There’s no doubt these games have really helped us, pitting our wits against two Category 1 teams and a Category 2 team.

"It’s been a good yardstick for us to see how far away we are and I don’t think we’re too far away.

"At under-23 level it’s a challenge because your team is constantly changing, but overall we’ve equipped ourselves pretty well and some of the individuals are definitely improving, which is ultimately what we’re here for.

"Our games programme isn't ideal, so these games have been a lifeline for us. We take something from all of them, whether it's the result or the learning experience of how we can improve moving forward.

"When we qualified for the group stage back in the autumn we saw it as a good opportunity for our lads to pit their wits against higher categorised academies and it's been a really positive experience.

"In another 12 months time these lads will be much better off for these games. Of course you want to qualify and carry it on, but it's been a good experience for our younger lads."

While Jolley has occasionally been able to field senior players looking for match fitness in these games, more often than not he has had to use his development squad as well as some members of the under-18s side.

He believes the competitive nature of the games will benefit them, while experiencing things such as overnight stays and playing at first team stadiums is also new to most of the youngsters.

"Some of the lads we've played in these games are 16 and 17-years-old and they haven't played a lot of football at this level," said Jolley, "so the whole experience of being treated almost like a first team player or getting a version of that experience is something we want to expose them too so if they do manage to get up with the first team they are more accustomed to it."