Burnley star Macca keeps his feet on the ground

11:30am Tuesday 13th May 2008

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BURNLEY youngster Alex MacDonald insists he won't get carried away after being fast-tracked into the first team.

The 18-year-old signed professional terms after an outstanding season with the youth team and reserves was capped by his senior debut as a second-half substitute against Cardiff City in the final home game.

Warrington-born MacDonald (below), who scored 17 goals for the youth team and six for the second string, blossomed relatively late into his apprenticeship.

But manager Owen Coyle has predicted a bright future for the attacking midfielder, providing he works hard enough.

"The gaffer's been brilliant with me since he came here, he's talked to me a lot, told me what to do here and there," said MacDonald, who played alongside Coyle in the reserves.

"The first time I played with the gaffer, Steve Davis told me I was going to have a lot of running to do! But it was a brilliant experience to play with him, he taught me a lot.

"He showed me, playing alongside me, where and what to improve, and he's helped a lot in the time I've played with him.

"I've had a great laugh with all the first team lads, and they've all made me feel welcome.

"It's been great training with them and getting a FROM BACK PAGE chance. They've made me feel part of it, no-one has been awkward about it.

"Hopefully I can push on now, but I'm not getting ahead of myself, I'm going to keep my feet firmly on the ground."

And MacDonald has paid tribute to the ground that he has received under youth team coach Terry Pashley and head of youth development Vince Overson.

"Pash has helped me a lot over the last two years, he's told me where I need to improve, and we've worked on things, and I feel I have improved a lot under him, he's been a great coach," he said.

"Vince has also had a lot of input, and he does a lot of work behind the scenes."

Ironically, it was a game against Burnley that first got MacDonald noticed.

The teenager was close to getting sucked into the footballing wilderness, but he has gone from strength to strength since arriving at Turf Moor.

"I got noticed playing for Cheshire schoolboys actually against Burnley," he explained.

"It was under 15s, and I had two assists in the game. It was one of my outstanding performances that season, to be fair, so I was really made up to get a call from one of the scouts here, saying he wanted me to come down and train with the Under 16s.

"From there I just progressed, I got signed on at Under 16s level, before signing as an apprentice.

"At the time there was no other interest in me, I was looking for a job and I was going to get an apprenticeship somewhere else.

"My dad had always told me Burnley was a big club for bringing young players through the ranks and into the first team, so it wasn't a hard decision for me to make to sign on."

Meanwhile, Burnley are believed to be interested in Blackpool defender Kaspars Gorkss.

The Latvian is still under contract at Bloomfield Road, but it is understood that an offer of around £250,000 would action a clause in his terms.

Watford, Crystal Palace and Rangers are also believed to be chasing the 26-year-old's signature.