AS Ian Brennan came through the ranks at Turf Moor he used to dream of scoring goals and playing as far forward as possible.

So the fact he ended up playing more than 200 games for the Clarets at left-back during his time at the club wasn't exactly how he had envisaged it when he was marauding through defences for the reserves in the early 1970s.

A versatile player, Brennan had operated in almost every position for the reserves, a philosophy drilled into players by the forward-thinking Jimmy Adamson, but it was the attacking the north east native relished.

Brennan had arrived at Turf Moor from school. He was in Chesterfield at the time and was spotted by the Burnley scout operating in the area, Sid Lancashire, who recommended him to chief scout Dave Blakey, and a deal was done, with Brennan opting for Burnley from a choice of 'seven or eight' clubs.

"When I came it was so friendly a place and a lot of guys here were from the north east. I felt at home. It was an easy going club and it had a family feel, and that’s why I came," he remembers.

Like all youngsters Brennan began with the reserves and an education that would serve him well as his career with the club progressed.

"I played in every position apart from goalkeeper and right back. I played centre forward for one season and got 30 goals and then the season after I was centre back," he said.

"It was finding the best place for me. I was blessed with stamina and speed, but it was a case of fitting me in and which was the best position for me at the time.

"Jimmy Adamson liked to have his players playing in all different positions. If you were in the reserves or the A team you didn’t just play inside left, you’d play in other positions to make you aware of what that position entails. I found it more beneficial for me and it gave you a better understanding of the game."

But goals were Brennan's currency as he fought to earn a chance under Adamson.

"My favourite position was left wing or left side of midfield, I wanted to score goals and I always had an eye for goal," the 64-year-old said.

"To me that’s what football was about as a kid, you don’t set out to be a full-back, you want to score goals."

But circumstances would dictate that Brennan's chance would come at left-back, and it's one he would grasp.

With Mick Doherty already out injured Keith Newton picked up a knock, giving Brennan his chance.

"It was a case of ‘there’s your opportunity, take it’," he said.

"I knew I was knocking on the door but I was hopeful of it being in a different role. I’d only played six or seven times in the reserves at full-back when I was picked for the first team.

"The injury to Keith settled my position long-term at the club. I wasn’t bothered where I played, I just wanted to get in the first team.

"My debut was away at Stoke and we got beat 4-0, but it wasn’t my fault!"

That came towards the end of the 1973/74 season and Brennan's only other appearance in that campaign was in the FA Cup third/fourth place play-off win over Leicester City.

But the following season Brennan became a regular, making his home debut against Chelsea and scoring a famous winner at Anfield, the last time the Clarets tasted success on that part of Merseyside.

"It was so easy for me it was almost as though it was made for me for what Adamson wanted me to do which was defend a little and then get forward a lot and get the crosses in," Brennan remembers of his role in the side.

"In those days we had (Ray) Hankin, (Paul) Fletcher, (Peter) Noble, (Geoff) Nulty would get up from midfield, for someone putting crosses in it was heaven because there were so many people to get on the end of it."

Just as Brennan was really hitting his stride at Turf Moor disaster struck early in the 1975/76 campaign when he broke his leg in a car accident after a game at Birmingham, and for a while the left-back feared his career was over when it only had just begun.

"I was out for 13 months, it was a bad break, they said I’d never play again. I had about five or six operations and metal plates put in and taken out," he said.

Asked if he was always confident he would make a playing return, Brennan said: "I had my doubts. When you’re in hospital for a few weeks and you’ve had various operations and people are telling you you won’t play you have all sorts running through your mind.

"Once I started back on the road to recovery, and I had great help from (Burnley physio) Jimmy Holland, I wanted to get back. It was an emotional moment when I returned."

When he did return the following season Adamson was gone, replaced by Joe Brown. Like most of the legendary bosses' former charges Brennan believes he set the tone for practices preached by a lot of modern day managers.

Having made almost 500 appearances as a player Adamson was close to three decades of service at Turf Moor as player, coach and manager before Bob Lord wielded the axe in January 1976, a move Brennan believes was a mistake.

"He was ahead of his time. He was forward thinking," he said of Adamson.

"Unfortunately he fell out with Bob Lord but I think he could have taken Burnley a long, long way. He needed a bit of time but he wasn’t granted that.

"You had to be able to adapt. If you couldn’t run fast, if that wasn’t a big skill, he wouldn’t have put you in the position. He knew what your abilities were before you did half the time and where you were going to fit into the team."

  • Tomorrow Ian Brennan on Harry Potts' return, his meeting with Bob Lord that spelt the end of his time at Turf Moor and why he made Burnley his home after hanging up his boots