AFTER whipping up a storm and surviving a typhoon in Korea, Andy Cooke will be hoping for a wind of change on his return to England.

The former Burnley striker is back in training with his old club as he looks to gain a foothold back in this country following 18 months playing for Busan Icons.

There are still no guarantees that Cooke will breeze back into Turf Moor and once again pull on the shirt he graced for five-and-a-half years until joining Stoke City in December 2000.

But a curious twist of fate sees Cooke's return coincide with Burnley's first meeting with Plymouth Argyle since May 1998, when the striker's brace earned a crucial 2-1 win over the Pilgrims that saved Burnley from relegation to the old Division Three on the final day of the season.

And naturally, the memories of such days were bound to come flooding back the moment Cooke renewed old acquaintances.

The 30-year-old hitman admitted: "I really loved my time at Burnley and jumped at the chance of coming back here to train.

"It was just a coincidence that Steve Cotterill is here now because he could have been anywhere.

"He was my manager at Stoke and I have an awful lot of respect for him, so when they asked me to come and train to get myself back on track, I was delighted.

"I also know a few of the Burnley lads in Ian Moore, Graham Branch and James O'Connor and that has helped me settle.

"In the past I've found it can be difficult going to clubs where you don't know anyone, but the lads I know, and the management here have all been very welcoming.

"It's all changed in four years - although I notice the training ground hasn't improved much!"

Gawthorpe might still look a picture on a pretty day, but it's undoubtedly a far cry from the penthouse apartment overlooking the coastline of South Korea, where Cooke and his young family based themselves during an genuine eye-opening, Far Eastern experience.

A physical approach to the game, familiar to the Clarets fans, meant he had to swallow his fair share of red cards on the field, often in sparsely populated stadiums despite the country co-hosting the 2002 World Cup.

Away from the pitch, the inclusion of such delicacies as dog on the menu was never likely to tempt Cooke during endless, boredom-relieving jaunts to local restaurants.

And it was the whole lifestyle change that finally tugged on the emotional heartstrings and persuaded him and his young family to head home.

He said: "I had a bit of a laugh with the lads, but Korea is so different culturally and socially.

"There are only so many shops and restaurants you can go around and in the evening, the highlight of our day was usually going for something to eat.

"It was the nicest place in Korea to live and I would never complain. I was there a year and a half and it just got hard.

"The lack of friends is hard enough and I could have easily called it a day and come home earlier because I had a few business ventures back in the UK.

"But sometimes you have to stick things out and the money I was earning out there was really good."

Cooke played alongside Jamie Cureton - now of QPR - in a league where the cream of young Brazilian talent is lured by lucrative $2-3 million deals.

He added" "I had to see it through and it was a whole new lifestyle experience that my family and I felt was worth the gamble.

"I played against a lot of teams and went to Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore and China and it was a mind-blowing experience."

The scariest moment of his stay came in September, 2002, when the strongest typhoon ever to hit South Korea struck.

Typhoon Maemi's 135 mph winds battered Cooke's scenic coastal apartment and even overturned a huge ferry in the nearby bay, while the ensuing rains led to landslides and flooding that eventually claimed the lives of 115 people.

Cooke recalled: "It was scary being in the middle of all that. I lived in a nice, high-rise apartment on the sea front and we had to go into the basement for our own safety while the storm raged.

"It was pretty hairy because all the windows were close to blowing out and when the storm hit, it was there for five hours and ripped everything apart.

"There was even a ship blown out of the water about a mile from my home, so it was quite worrying."

Thankfully, the survivor made it home. Now the aim is to make waves again closer to home.

Andy Cooke scored 52 goals in 172 league appearances for Burnley