ANDRE Gray continued his fine start to pre-season as Burnley beat Bradford City 4-1 at Valley Parade.

The Clarets’ top scorer from last season made it four goals in three games as he scored twice in three minutes in the first half.

Ben Mee was also on the scoresheet as Burnley’s Premier League class shone through in a dazzling six minute spell.

For the first time in pre-season Sean Dyche gave some of his outfield players more than a half, with David Jones and Scott Arfield playing nearly 80 minutes, while Ben Mee and Michael Keane had over 70 minutes next to each other at the back.

Tom Heaton and Stephen Ward also made their first appearances of pre-season after returning to training this week following Euro 2016, while Nick Pope made his debut in the second half.

It wasn’t all good news in Yorkshire though, with Ashley Barnes coming off injured just before the break after he pulled up when playing a pass.

The deadlock was broken after a quarter of an hour and it was a well worked goal from the Clarets, as Jones pass in central midfield found George Boyd in space. He linked up with the advancing Ward, who played Boyd back in on the overlap and the former Hull City winger’s clipped cross was headed home by Gray from inside the six-yard box.

Two minutes later Gray found the back of the net again. This time Dean Marney’s ball over the top saw Gray beat the offside trap and from 18-yards he lofted the bouncing ball over Colin Doyle’s head and under the crossbar.

The Clarets were rampant now and after Arfield won a corner Jones’ deep in-swinging delivery was headed back across goal and into the top corner by Mee for the third.

Burnley should have had a penalty just before the half hour, with Gray controlling another superb Marney pass and cutting inside Nathan Clarke, who appeared to trip him, but referee Geoff Eltringham waved the appeals away.

A minute later Billy Clarke rattled the post for the home side from close range from a Bradford corner, before Filipe Morais broke through the middle, tracked by Marney and Ward, with the left-back managing to poke the ball behind just as Morais was about to pull the trigger.

Morais did get a goal back just before the break though. Mark Marshall’s initial shot had fallen to Clarke, who saw his effort saved by Heaton, but Morais turned the rebound across goal and into the far corner.

Having come on to replace Barnes Lukas Jutkiewicz then made way at half-time having spent just two minutes on the pitch, when he didn’t touch the ball, with Rouwen Hennings replacing him, while the only other change at the break saw Pope on for his debut.

The second half was interrupted for changes on several occasions and the game lost it’s rhythm after the break.

Pope’s only involvement saw him collect a low cross from McMahon on the bounce at his near post, while at the other end Jones twice fired over the bar from distance.

Burnley eventually added a fourth when Michael Kightly tapped home from close range after the City defence had made a mess of Dan Agyei’s low cut-back.

Burnley: Tom Heaton (Nick Pope 46), Tendayi Darikwa (Matt Lowton 72), Michael Keane (Kevin Long 72), Ben Mee (James Tarkowski 72), Stephen Ward (Danny Lafferty 66), George Boyd (Michael Kightly 72), Dean Marney (Fredrik Ulvestad 66), David Jones, Scott Arfield, Andre Gray (Dan Agyei 66), Ashley Barnes (Lukas Jutkiewicz 43 (Rouwen Hennings 46))

Bradford City: Colin Doyle, Tony McMahon, Daniel Devine, Nicky Law, Nathan Clarke, Nathaniel Knight-Percival, Mark Marshall, Timothee Dieng, Paul Anderson (Jordy Hiwula 60), Billy Clarke (Reece Webb-Foster 74), Filipe Morais (Trialist 60)