CLARKE Carlisle has hailed the summer capture of Stephen Jordan as an "unbelievable signing".

The 27-year-old admitted he was impressed with the business Burnley manager Steve Cotterill did in the summer, even before he made a £200,000 move from Watford to Turf Moor last month.

And the former England Under 21 international is relishing the prospect of giving Clarets boss Cotterill some defensive selection dilemmas given the number of defensive options at their disposal.

"I thought Stephen Jordan was one unbelievable signing," said Carlisle.

"The gaffer's pulled off a bit of a coup there because he's got so much quality and so much athleticism he could go on and do whatever he wants to do within the game.

"I think he just needs to show his drive and determination now to seize from football what it can give him."

And Carlisle was full of praise for the rest of the Burnley backline.

"The skipper (Steven Caldwell) alongside has been invaluable with his help in the matches; David Unsworth, his numerous success stories within his career and the amount of experience he's got I'm actually quite jealous of," he said.

"He's had a fantastic career and if I go on half as long and play half as many games I'd be very happy.

"Obviously the gaffer's just brought in Graham Alexander - I know that he played in the centre of midfield (at Colchester) but I think he generally plies his trade right side.

"And he's the same as Dave and Stevie - vast, valuable experience. Not just at this level but international level as well.

"And that consistency, and the consistency of performance level in Steve and Dave Unsworth and Graham, you know you're going to get that week in, week out and that only bodes well for what the team's trying to do.

"You need to have a solid base, a solid defensive line, and that includes your goalkeeper as well.

"If you don't concede goals, you're not going to lose games. It's so basic and simple it seems stupid but it's true."

He added: "You've got Stephen Jordan out at left back. At right back, Michael Duff's a legend.

"For someone so big I think he's got excellent ball control, he's good at finding the front men. That squad that we have is so tall.

"From set pieces we should be able to score so many goals this season. We get goals from all over the park.

"If you can get that unit working together fluidly and not concede goals you have every chance of success, especially when in the past two games we've had Ade, Andy and Robbie all scoring goals, it's very positive."

He added: "It's a great headache to give (the manager). If all the players were playing rubbish and he had just those to pick that's a bad problem for him to have.

"But the team seems to be playing well, the strikers are scoring goals. To have a selection like that I think he'll be very happy."