Clarets assistant calls for transfer business to de done early (From Lancashire Telegraph)

Clarets assistant calls for transfer business to de done early

10:20am Friday 11th May 2012 in npower Championship table By Suzanne Geldard, Burnley FC reporter

JASON Tindall is hoping to avoid a repeat of the late summer sales which he feels hindered the start of Burnley’s season.

Speculation surrounding the future of top scorer Jay Rodriguez has mounted since the campaign drew to a dis-appointing close for the Clarets.

The 22-year-old striker has attracted serious interest from Premier League clubs, SPL champions Celtic, while there are understood to have been enquiries from the continent.

With a year left to run on his current contract, the club is reluctant to lose the youth team graduate.

Burnley found themselves in similar circumstances last year, when Chris Eagles and Tyrone Mears left in a joint deal to Bolton Wanderers just two weeks before the season began, having completed the bulk of their pre-season prep-arations, while left back Danny Fox was sold to Southampton after just one league and cup game.

Assistant manager Tindall (pictured right) described that scena-rio as “dishearte-ning”, and admitted that, if a transfer away from Turf Moor was inevitable for Burnley-born star Rodriguez, he feels it is in the best interests of the club, and the player, if it is completed sooner rather than later.

“Hopefully we can hold on to our better players because we do want to be successful and achieve things, and to do that you do need your best players,” said Eddie Howe’s number two.

“Hopefully we can do that.

“The reality is all good players are going to be linked with better opportunities.

“If there is any interest from any club you’d like it to happen sooner rather than later – and that goes for any one of our players.

“The sooner it happens it gives us that little bit more time to prepare ourselves to maybe replace the bodies that might leave.

“From the players’ point of view it gives them time to settle into their new environment if they were to move away.

“I think for all parties, if it is going to happen, it would be better if it happened sooner,” added Tin-dall, insisting there are harsh lessons to be learnt from last summer’s late transfer dealings.

“It was a hugely frustrating summer last year.

“Pre-season was very difficult, not only for the staff but for the players as well.

“When you see three of your best players leave your football club so late into pre-season (and at the start of the season) it’s very difficult.

“It was disheartening and really, really frustrating because you do plan and prepare yourself going into a season with the players you've got within your squad at that time.

“All your preparation is pretty much done going into this first game, and when things like happen it does knock you for six and set you back.

“I do believe it did affect the players going into the start of the season. But we can't control that, that's the unfortunate thing about it.

“Hopefully we won't be having a repeat of last year because it was really frustrating and it made it really difficult for us to rebuild at such a late stage of pre-season.”