McNeil yearns to be a Clarets marvel

MARVEL-mad Dwight McNeil wants to be Burnley’s very own superhero.

The wing-wizard celebrated his 22nd birthday earlier this week with a special Spiderman cake.

And the former England Under-21 international (above) hopes he’ll be tying up Tottenham with his own web of trickery in today’s Premier League showdown at Turf Moor.

“I’m big into my Marvel, especially Spiderman, so my missus got me a massive Spiderman cake for my birthday with me on the top of it,” revealed McNeil. “I enjoyed that!

“I think it’s good for footballers to have a treat when it’s the right time.

“We’re obviously on top of the nutritional side of things at the club and we’re always getting weighed and our body fats monitored. But I brought some chocolate brownies in for the lads from a bakery near the ground on my birthday.

“If you don’t bring cakes in for the lads on special occasions like your birthday, well then you get fined!”

But McNeil knows the sweetest treat of all will be helping the Clarets beat Spurs today as they look to stretch their threegame unbeaten run under manager

Sean Dyche (left).

Burnley have lost their last two home clashes with the Londoners and last beat them at home in February 2019.

But Antonio Conte’s side crashed to a shock 2-1 away loss to Slovenian side NS Mura on Wednesday in the Europa League — and McNeil hopes the Clarets can capitalise on that.

“Playing in Europe in midweek can be draining, but we know they’ll just put that defeat behind them and be focused for Sunday,” said McNeil.

“But the mood around the camp is healthy and everyone is confident.

“We know we were playing well at the start of the season, but we weren’t getting the points. Now we’re picking up points and we’re playing well. We’ve just got to keep the form going and get the fans behind us.”

McNeil has been working on improving the defensive side of his game to make him a much more rounded professional. But it is his creativity – and hunger to score goals – which the Clarets crave the most.

He said: “I know you’ve just got to work as hard with the ball as when you don’t have it. I’m always looking to improve that side of my game.

“It’s about reading the game and pressing at the right moments because teams can pick you off.

“We know how ruthless the Premier League is with punishing mistakes, teams can pounce, so it’s about making the chances count.”

The birthday boy will certainly be looking to do that today.