Clarets boss Coyle tells stars they're playing for their future

Although winger Wade Elliott has penned a new three-year-deal, seven others, as yet, remain on uncertain ground.

It is likely teenage striker Jay Rodriguez, who signed a one-year contract last summer, will have his progress rewarded with an extension.

But Coyle has insisted none of the squad can afford to rest on their laurels, and has urged his players to use the final three games of the season to prove they are worthy of being included in his ambitious plans.

"There are players who are out of contract, and players within contract, and if we feel they're not going to be in the team then it's a bit of juggling and a bit of wheeling and dealing," he said.

"I've said to the players before, because they're under contract doesn't mean they're necessarily going to be here.

"I know players have got a lot of power in that respect, with some sitting on nice salaries.

"But the bottom line is, I only want players here at the football club that are going to give everything they have to get in the team and show what they want to do, and anything they go and achieve is on the back of what they achieve with Burnley Football Club, not because of previous tenures at other football clubs."

And while reducing the average age of the squad is a main objective this summer, as Coyle seeks out younger targets for when the transfer window opens on July 1, the Burnley boss has stressed he will not shy away from trying to attract household names.

"We do need to freshen things up and bring people in, but, for example, if I was talking about five players, you wouldn't just have five targets, we have an array of targets, ranging from players that might be beyond the realms of possibility, but it won't stop us trying to get players of that stature to the club," he said.

"Who would have thought Burnley would have got somebody like Andrew Cole here?

"We realise he had a niggling Achilles injury, but there's no doubt when he's fully fit, he's got five goals in six starts.

"There's a role for that type of player, getting that balance I'm talking about, but you wouldn't have thought, given the level he's played at, and the finances involved, that we would have got him.

"It didn't stop us trying, and it came off.

"There was a furore after Andy Gray left, who hadn't scored in his previous 10 games, and he got his first goal last week and good luck to him, but we brought a lot of money into the club, and hopefully in the summer we can go and spend it.

"We got Andrew here within our structure, for less than Andy Gray's salary, and we'll continue to try and do the best we can within the budget set.

"We will be in among big, big clubs, but there's no reason why we can't go and compete, be a real breath of fresh air and a real challenger in this Championship."

He added: "There's that balance between expectation and realism, and we raised the expectation level because we went and achieved big results and kept ourselves up there, until probably last week, in the play-off hunt.

"Realistically, when all's said and done, the smaller clubs in the Championship probably shouldn't be at that top end, but I think we can be.

"And I see no reason why, whether Sheffield United - who have five times the budget of ourselves, or Charlton, four or five times, we can't compete with them.

"We can, and that means implementing a couple of changes, bringing a bit of pace and strength into the team, and a younger identity.

"We inherited a squad of very gifted players, but a lot on the wrong side of 30.

"There is a place for players like that, but it is about striking that balance, which is what we'll look to do.

"We'll not get each and every individual target we go after, "but there are young players out there who can complement what we've got, and we want to be seen to have an identity of a club seen to be giving aspiring young players an opportunity to develop, within the structure, alongside good experienced players and marry that together."