ADE Akinbiyi admits he has never experienced the kind of pre-season he and his team-mates are currently facing in America.

And the big striker has revealed he is making the most of every minute’s work as he tries to cement his place in the Clarets side next season.

Burnley played the second and final match of their tour of the State against Minnesota Thunder in the early hours of this morning, having previously taken on Carolina RailHawks as part of their pre-season build-up.

But the trip has also included training sessions at their respective camps, sometimes twice a day, as manager Owen Coyle takes advantage of the warm weather to prepare his squad for the coming campaign.

And the 33-year-old admitted it’s not for the faint-hearted.

He said: “It’s good, but it’s really hot. It’ll do us a lot of good working in this heat, but it’s really hard.

“People talk about coming to America to retire, but I can’t see that happening, it’s just too hot to be working out here full-time.

“But it’s going to do us a lot of good. The set up has been absolutely fantastic.

“The manager has a passing philosophy and he’s been making us work hard when we’ve been training. We’ve been doing ball work and a bit of running, and it’ll pay off because we’re a passing team. It’s making us work to the best of our ability out here.”

Akinbiyi will have a fight on his hands to take one of the striking roles on offer at Turf Moor next season, following the acquisition of Martin Paterson from Scunthorpe - a deal that smashed the club’s transfer record.

And with Coyle also in the hunt for another forward, Akinbiyi knows he will need to be at the top of his game.

However, after almost two weeks of pre-season, he is happy with the way things are shaping up.

He added: “I feel good. Every one of us is getting back to full fitness.

“It’s going to take time. We played our first game the other night, obviously we lost, but we’ve got to look further down the line and then it’s up to the manager.”