Ben back in driving seat now

THE wheels are back on the Burnley bandwagon after a car-crash start to the new season.

Four Premier League defeats and an early exit from the Europa League sent shockwaves around Turf Moor after the euphoria of seventh place last time out.

But now the famed team spirit has kicked in once more – a camaraderie boosted by hitching lifts with each other, like Peter Kay in TV’s Car Share hit series.

The modern-day trend among highly paid players is to zoom in and out of training ALONE inside their luxurious 4x4s.

But that is not the Burnley way with Ben Mee revealing that giving each other a ride into the training ground each morning heightens the bonding spirit between team-mates.

Mee said: “Yes a lot of the lads travel in together. It’s natural. That’s the way the lads are here. We are very down to earth. The lads chipping in with each other to give each other lifts, it’s good.

“You get to know each other a lot better spending that extra hour, two hours in a car together talking. It’s good for the team. No one lives near me so I’m going in on my own. “But it’s good to have that bit of a chat and talk things through away from the club. We just take turns in driving.” Mee, 29 (left) is pushing for Burnley to hit top gear again today at Cardiff happy in the knowledge that the players and fans are up for another in-your-face performance.

He added: “We want more than just scrapping at the bottom. We have a tightly knit unit and we do have to stick together and create that sort of team spirit we need. “We’re a tough team to play against and that’s what we need to be every week.

“It’s all been about getting things back on track, back to doing what we do. “That was the main theme. Getting back to how we play and what we do.

“The manager knows what the lads give him and we’re always willing to give everything for the team. That’s the kind of group we have.”

Mee believes manager Sean Dyche was confident his players had the character to turn it around. “We’re quite a good group and we have a lot of people who will talk,” he said. “We do get together without the manager and coaching staff. We do have some chats.

“We have experienced players who have been in the game a long time and there are a good few of us who will chip in.

“Our fans trust us. There’s no pressure there. Whatever we go for they will back us and come along with us for the ride.” STEVE MILLAR