MEE’S DAD A BIG YEAR

TURF TIME: Ben Mee with keeper Nick Pope

WHILE MOST will be glad to see the back of 2020 Burnley star Ben Mee has a special reason for not feeling quite the same – his baby daughter Olive.

Born four months early and weighing an astonishing 1lb 2oz, doctors weren’t certain she would survive.

Thankfully she has and is growing bigger by the day to the relief of Mee (below with Olive), wife Sarah and little boy Jaxon.

The Turf

Moor skipper,

31, said: “It’s been a rollercoaster year for sure.

“We got her home on the day she was due to be born. To bring her home and meet Jaxon was an incredibly emotional day.

“We’d had conversations with the doctors preparing us for what could happen so of course it was difficult.

“It was made more difficult with the pandemic and at first I wasn’t even allowed into the hospital.

“It was difficult to negotiate all that – it was just a case of trying to get us all through it. She’s doing really well now. She’s on oxygen still but we’d have taken that at the beginning.

“Hopefully she will be coming off it soon. It has definitely put everything into perspective massively this year.”

Before he left Manchester City, David Silva was a comfort for Mee after going through something similar last year with his own premature son Mateo.

Mee added: ““It was very good to speak to him.

“David was r reassuring. M Mateo was tw two and a normal boy and that was nice to hear.”

With life now m more settled, M Mee is hoping to end an ex extraordinary ye year by helping Burnley climb away from trouble, starting with a big test at Arsenal tonight.

He said: “Taking something against Arsenal would be great, especially at their place.

“We’ve got a big month coming up with big games but I’m very confident we will pick up results.”