SATURDAY'S victory over Bolton Wanderers has given me plenty of optimism going into the new season.

It was my first look at Burnley's new signings and, on the whole, I was pleased with what I saw.

Throughout the game, the all-round performance and shape of the side looked very good.

The defence looked solid, the midfield got through a lot of work and we scored two goals.

I know it's only pre-season, but it's nice to beat Premiership opposition.

Andy Gray got in the right area to score his goal.

As I said last week, our strikers must show good movement in and around the six-yard box, because we've got midfielders who can ping balls on target and, on the odd occasion, the goalkeeper is going to let a couple slip.

Andy was there with a little toe-poke - it was almost Jimmy Robson-style.

I was quite impressed with Kyle Lafferty when he came on. He certainly looks a lot stronger than last season and he was unlucky not to score with a header.

Steve Cotterill did not change the shape of the side too much. We were solid and people stayed in their positions.

Micah Hyde took his goal well, it was a good side foot finish and that is something he is capable of On his performance last week, if nobody came in for him, I would not be too unhappy to see another 12 months of him.

Steve Foster looks to have settled in well. Okay, there's a lot of competition at centre-half.

But the boy Foster gives us that bit of youthfulness. He showed that with his sharpness and athleticism It's nice to see Steve Jones scoring four goals over in Italy. That's brilliant for him, that will bring him on leaps and bounds.

Scoring goals breeds confidence, as does winning games, so Burnley are heading into the new season on a high and that's good.

Finally, I thought the Turf Moor pitch on Saturday looked impeccable.

That's testament to the ground-staff who have worked hard over the summer.