FITTINGLY for a Claret, Mitchell Thomas is proving himself something of a fine vintage.

One or two eyebrows were raised when Stan Ternent confirmed he was recruiting the Luton Town defender, who celebrates his 35th-birthday in October, to form part of a squad geared up for a promotion challenge.

Ternent merely maintained that Thomas has always been a good player and nothing had changed.

And the former Tottenham, West Ham and Hatters stalwart is reinforcing that message by proving the old adage that you're only as old as you feel.

Thomas has played almost 500 League games in a professional career stretching back to 1982 - just four years after his Burnley team-mate Alan Lee was born.

And he puts his longevity down to dedication, sacrifice and boundless enthusiasm.

"You've got to sacrifice a lot of things if you want to extend your career.

"It's just how you live and how you look after yourself," he said.

"The diet's not too bad. I'm fortunate enough to eat anything that I really want and I don't put the weight on.

"You can go to nightclubs but it's the drinking aspect and whether you smoke or not.

"I'm not really a drinker anyway and I don't really smoke and I don't have too many late nights towards the end of my career.

"You've got to protect yourself."

It perhaps comes as no surprise then that the players he has admired and learned the most from tend to be those that have wrung almost every last drop out of their careers while playing for top-notch bosses.

"I've worked with a lot of good managers. David Pleat comes to mind.

"I played under him twice and also Terry Venables, who was a very big influence on my career," Thomas confirmed.

"But so were players I've played alongside, Gary Mabbutt, Steve Foster, Ricky Hill, Mick Harford, Brian Stein and Chris Waddle, people like that.

"Gary Mabbutt has only given up this season because of his knee injury. He was 37 and still going strong in the Premiership and if it wasn't for his knee I think he would still be playing."

A healthy lifestyle, therefore, comes near the top of Thomas's list of priorities.

And making the move north to Burnley has allowed him easy access to pursue some his off-the-field interests.

"I like getting out in the countryside, I like walking, riding my bike and taking the dog out. You've got to get as much fresh air as you can and the rest is important also," he said.

So, despite spending all his career with clubs in and around London, it hasn't been too much of a culture shock to sample life in the North for the first time, having rejected the chance to make the break earlier when Sheffield Wednesday tried to lure him away from Spurs.

With no family ties, he had no qualms about pitching up in East Lancashire and joining Ternent's Burnley revolution, having turned down the chance to stay with Luton or join Second Division rivals Millwall.

"It's a lot bigger than Luton and it's a fresh challenge for me," said Thomas after signing for the club.

And his views haven't changed after negotiating pre-season and starting the campaign in impressive style at Wycombe Wanderers, if not at Manchester City when the Clarets as a whole had a 45-minutes to forget.

"First impressions are that it's a massive club with great potential. The fans are great and hopefully we can reward them with promotion, either automatically or through the play-offs," he said.

"There's massive potential. Saturday was phenomenal, the support we had down there.

"And if we can have that for most of the season I think we've got every chance."

Thomas was in for another taste of claret and blue fervour at Turf Moor today when he was set to make his official home debut - an occasion he was clearly relishing.

"We've had a few friendlies but to get a competitive game under our belts will be nice, to get a win as well would be great.

"You've got to try and win your home games in any promotion campaign," he stressed.

Thomas made his name as a left-back in the top-flight, initially at Kennilworth Road and then at White Hart Lane after Pleat had paid £233,000 to his former club to recruit one of his most loyal servants.

But he has started this season in the centre of Burnley's defence and, with his aerial power and ability to read the game, that could prove to be his strongest suit as the Clarets chase a promotion dream.

"It's been great," he added. "Steve (Davis) is captain and he's in there beside me and he's done very well for me.

"Obviously I've played alongside Steve before at Luton and I'm just enjoying it.

"But I will bring some options and some experience. Sometimes in this division you need a lot of experience just to guide you through it."

That experience was likely to be invaluable today as the Clarets looked to steady the ship after their mid-week beating at City and resume what has become normal service in the League in recent times.

Thomas certainly believes Burnley have the know-how and the ability to be at least a top-six side.

And he is determined to add another honour to his CV which boasts an FA Cup final appearance with Tottenham in 1987 and caps at England youth, under-21 and B level.

"I'm not winding down. I'm very enthusiastic. Sometimes I feel I try to do too much really. But that's just me, trying to show my endeavour and my enthusiasm."

It's a good lesson to learn for Burnley's younger players who aspire to a career matching one of Turf Moor's elder statesman.

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