New loan signing Russell Anderson insists he is ready to leap into action and help kick-start Burnley's season.

The Sunderland centre-back, who has joined the Clarets until the end of the season, knows what to expect from the highly-competitive Championship, having ended last season on loan at fellow Championship side Plymouth,

And as the Clarets gear up to face the Pilgrims on Saturday, Anderson is ready to start a new chapter at Turf Moor.

He said: "I've not played enough up the road (Sunderland) and that's been disappointing, but that's football sometimes.

"There is no point in dwelling on it. I'll just get on with it down here.

"The manager at Sunderland was honest enough to tell me that I'd be down the pecking order there and to be honest I'd rather be playing than sitting on the bench not involved at all.

"So when the opportunity came up, I thought it was a good opportunity for me to hopefully come down and stake a place in the team."

Anderson only met his new team mates in the final build up to Tuesday's Carling Cup victory over Oldham.

But already, he believes the competition for places will make it tough.

The 5"11 defender added: "I'd only seen the lads for a couple of hours, but it was good to get on the bench and I thought it was a good performance.

"I thought in the end it was a comfortable 3-0.

"These games are always potential banana skins and you can find a few upsets in the early rounds.

"We scored three and could have had a few more, but it's equally important to keep a clean sheet and the performance has shown me it's going to be difficult to get in there, but it's something I am looking forward to."

Anderson added: "The team did well, so I think the manager could quite easily be forgiven for picking the same 11 on Saturday - so if I get a chance, great.

"If not, then I'll just get my head down and work hard in training and show them what I can do.

"My first training session will be Thursday morning, so I'm looking forward to it."