FORMER Burnley goalkeeping coach Fabian Otte says Billy Mercer was “an incredible mentor” during his time at Turf Moor.

The German joined the Clarets’ coaching ranks in the summer of 2020 to assist Mercer with the first team and also work with the Academy.

Otte – who is now the main goalkeeping coach at Bundesliga side Borussia Monchengladbach – has fond memories of his time in the North West.

"What I learned is if you have a clear structure and good leadership at the top - and by that I mean Sean Dyche who puts a lot of the structure in place, the staff around him with Ian Woan, Billy Mercer and Steve Stone - you can make up for so many things,” he told Sky Sports.

"The players know exactly what the plan is. The club knows how things are run. It gives everyone a sense of security.

"That showed despite the club picking up only two points from the first seven games in the Premier League last season. Everyone was so calm.

"Every player bought into the whole and this was bigger than any individual. That is the secret at Burnley. It comes from Sean. He does not even need to say anything, he is such an authority."

Prior to his time in the Premier League, Otte worked in Germany, New Zealand and the Netherlands before moving to England to study a degree at Newcastle University.

The 30-year-old says Mercer played a vital role in his move to Turf Moor.

He added: “(Billy) wanted someone who thought differently to him and worked completely differently with the goalkeepers to how he worked with them because he felt that they needed something fresh in the building."

"I know superficially I might not have seemed a good fit, it might have seemed that Burnley were the opposite to me at first, but everyone there was very open to new ideas."