POPE KEEPS HEAT DOWN
BURNLEY keeper Nick Pope claims his impending battle with Tom Heaton to be No.1 will not turn nasty.
The stand-in keeper has caught the eye with a string of impressive performances while Heaton recovers from shoulder surgery.
His rehab is going well and boss Sean Dyche will have a selection headache when the 31-year-old returns early in 2018.
With the World Cup a few months away, Heaton will be desperate to force his way into England manager Gareth Southgate’s thinking.
But first he must edge out Pope, and that will be no easy feat given the former Charlton man is also being talked up as an outsider for Russia.
Support
Pope, 25, said the rapport between him and Heaton is so good that whoever Dyche chooses will get the support from the other.
“We have a great goalie group,” said Pope ahead of today’s trip to Huddersfield. “There will be no problems, I can assure you of that.
“We have worked together over a year and have a great relationship on and off the pitch. He is a friend of mine. So it’s just work hard every day.
“We push each other to make each other better.
“Like you would have at any club, and with other positions, there is competition. When that times comes, we’ll cross that bridge when we get there.” Dyche has said that if a player takes his chance, he will keep his place, although Pope is not taking anything for granted.
“I am playing at the minute,” he said. “But things change quickly.
“I’m not going to get complacent. I am going to concentrate just as hard as I did in those first few games in the team.
“You can get clipped back quickly in this game if you get slack, or take your eye of the ball.
“I am definitely aware of that.”
Pope is flattered by talk of an international call-up but is fully focused on his job with Burnley.
“That’s outside noise which is pleasant to hear,” Pope added.
“It’s a long way off. To be thinking about it, would be getting ahead of myself.
“It’s a confidence boost but it’s not something I’ll give too much thought, because Burnley is the only thing on my mind.”