GRAHAM Branch has thrown the gauntlet down and challenged Burnley to follow Preston's lead next season.

North End lie one game away from leaving their Lancashire rivals behind after reaching the Championship play-off final, which takes place next Monday.

But Burnley's longest serving player is confident the Clarets can build on the foundations laid by Steve Cotterill in his first season in charge to challenge for a top six spot of their own next season.

"We've got a good set of lads, so I can't see why we can't do what Preston have done," insisted Branch.

"They are not better than us, but they probably have a bigger squad. That's the only area where we struggled last season and probably the main reason we didn't finish as high in the league as we should have."

Branch, 33, added: "We proved a lot of people wrong by taking points off top sides along the way, like Preston, Wigan and Ipswich. We would have taken 13th place at the start of last season, but the gaffer has already told us he wants to progress and we all know we are capable of the play-offs.

"We need a squad capable of getting us there and we know we haven't got the financial clout of some of the other bigger sides.

"But the gaffer has a knack of signing quality players and if he can bring a few more in we can definitely set our sights on the top six."

Branch, who recently clocked up his 250th appearance for the Clarets, has already signed up to Cotterill's vision by agreeing a new one-year deal to take him until next summer.

That meant Cotterill began his summer recruiting campaign with nine full-time professionals after taking the decision to release eight of last season's squad earlier this month.

Bournemouth duo Wade Elliott and Garreth O'Connor have since taken the squad back up to 11 after agreeing to sign three year deals when they become free agents on July 1.

* Former Burnley striker Ronnie Jepson has been announced as assistant manager to Neale Cooper at Gillingham.