GEORGE Boyd is backing Lukas Jutkiewicz to fill the void left by top scorer Danny Ings and fire the club up and out of the Championship.

The striker has been the in-form player of the summer, with four goals.

And, ahead of today’s televised lunchtime opener at Leeds United (kick-off 12.30pm), Boyd is sure his team-mate can transfer his scoring streak into the new season and become the 20-goal striker the Clarets will need to mount another promotion push.

“You saw in pre-season how good he is. His confidence is back and he’s scoring goals,” said the Burnley winger.

“He’s a 20-goal in a season striker in the Championship, so if we can get him back firing on all cylinders he’ll be a massive asset to us.

“He’s scored four in pre-season and he’s a big boy.

“After playing against him in the Championship in previous seasons I know he’s a big handful so I’ve no doubt he’ll score 20-goals this year.”

Boyd’s previous experience of the Championship has also taught him how difficult a division it is to get out of.

“This league is so open. Everyone can beat everyone else at this level,” he said.

“It will be tough but I think that will suit us with so many games and our fitness levels. We’ll be fine.

“The experience of last year and playing in the biggest league in the world, as well as that pressure of coming up against the world class stars, will help us this year. “Everyone’s improved and have that year’s experience in the Premier League, so that can really help us.”

Boyd hopes to benefit from a strong team spirit too.

“It’s vital. In any promotion team, the team spirit has to be great and I think we’ve got that here. It can get you that extra few points that can prove the difference.

“It’s the best league in the world and we want to be back there. A lot of us proved we can play at that level and hopefully we can get back there.”

And Burnley’s player of the season believes they could not have asked for a better opening game than facing Leeds away, and is confident they can rise to the occasion.

“It’s a big test,” he said.

“It will be similar to a Premier League game with 30,000 people there.

“The crowd will be on us from the start and as a new manager he (Uwe Rosler) will want to get off to a good start.

“Uwe has brought a freshness to them. He did really well at Brentford and he’s a good manager. He’ll get them playing the way he wants.

“But we’re the ex-Premier League team and we’ll go there with the confidence of getting a win and the good start we need.

“At Elland Road it will be a fantastic first game and I can’t wait to get started.

“We’ve come back with an appetite to get back into the Premier League next season.

“We’re confident we can be up there and get back to where we feel we deserve to be.”