Martin Paterson hit 12 goals as Burnley reached the Premier League in May

Burnley's Martin Paterson is relishing a return to his home-town club Stoke City on the first day of the new Premier League season on 15 August.

"I'll be going there to do a serious job for Burnley," the Northern Ireland international told BBC Radio Stoke.

"It might sound horrible to say that against the club that I love, but that's the way things have gone."

Tunstall-born Paterson, 22, left the Potters in 2007 after coming through the Britannia Stadium youth system.

Paterson signed for Scunthorpe after rejecting the opportunity to sign a new contract with Stoke.

Having hit 13 league goals in his one season at Scunthorpe, Paterson then moved to Turf Moor last June for a then club record £1million.

Burnley will have a smaller budget than Stoke did last season. It's not impossible, but it will be very difficult Martin Paterson

He scored 19 goals in all competitions for Burnley (12 of them in the league) as the Clarets returned to English football's top flight for the first time in 33 years via the Championship play-offs.

He scored on his other previous appearance at the Britannia Stadium since leaving the Potters, in a 3-2 defeat for Scunthorpe against Tony Pulis's side in February 2008.

"I've played against them, and scored against them," he said. "But coming back in the Premier League will be a different matter. It will make it a massive game for me."

Paterson sees Stoke, who finished 12th in their first season in the Premier League, as the perfect role model for Burnley in their attempt to survive against the odds next season.

"Stoke had people doubting them, but they survived," he said. "We'll have a smaller budget than Stoke did last season. It's not impossible, but it will be very difficult."

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