CHRIS Turner admits his recent appearance at Turf Moor has given him a taste for the big time, but first he knows the priority is securing a regular place at Accrington Stanley.

Turner lined up for Stanley in their recent fund-raising friendly against Burnley – the club he supported as a boy and joined as a youngster.

The 19-year-old winger, who later joined Stanley after being released from the Clarets youth setup, made his breakthrough with the Reds in the second half of last season before signing a new two-year deal in the summer.

Since then he has not always been a regular starter, missing out on a place for Friday’s win over Crewe after forcing his way into the team for the previous four games, but Turner is determined to prove he merits selection.

“In the last six months of last season I played more or less every game,” he said.

“I got 25 or 30 games in and perhaps I just expected to be back in at the start of this season, but you can’t expect anything in football.

“They brought a few new lads in, so I found it hard not to be playing.

“But I managed to get back in and put in a few good performances, although I let myself down at Hereford last week.

“I am going to try to get into the team permanently now for the rest of the season.”

Turner turned down interest from League One clubs to stay at Stanley this summer but still has ambitions to test himself at a higher level some day.

“A couple of clubs came in for me but Accy treated me tremendously in the second half of last season,” he said.

“They had faith in me and I played most games so I thought I’d stick with Accy so I could repay that faith.

“The Burnley game was great because I’ve always wanted to play against Burnley on the Turf.

“It’s only five minutes away from my house and all my mates are Burnley fans, so it was good to get one over on them.

“I know we didn’t win but I thought I had a good game.

“My dream is to play at places like that week in, week out.

“You’ve got to start somewhere, though, and Accy have given me the chance.

“I just need to show what I can do now and try to get as high as I can.”