Moscow rule fires up Heaton
TOM HEATON has come a long way from being a wide-eyed youngster in the Manchester United dressing room at the epic 2008 Champions League final against Chelsea in Russia.
Yet nearly nine years on, the experience of that victorious night in Moscow still lives with the goalkeeper and has helped shape his destiny.
Heaton, then 21, was merely part of the supporting cast inside the Luzhniki Stadium, watching Dutch keeper Edwin van der Sar and the rest of Sir Alex Ferguson’s superstars deal with the ultimate big-game pressure.
At Turf Moor today, Chelsea are the obstacle again – with the pressure on Heaton and the rest of Sean Dyche’s Burnley outfit as they try to upset Antonio Conte’s league leaders.
Heaton said: “There were so many lessons I tried to take from my time at United and one of them was seeing how the top players at the top end of the game went about their business.
“Being in the travelling party for the 2008 Champions League final was massive for me. Just being in the dressing room and seeing how they went about their preparations was something that has stayed with me.
Mantra
“There were a lot of experiences from my time at United that I still try to draw on now I’m at Burnley.”
One of those was never fearing an opponent and it’s a mantra Heaton and Co will apply against Eden Hazard, Diego Costa, Pedro and David Luiz. “There’s never any fear playing world-class stars,” said Heaton.
“This is the challenge we want at Burnley and why you play the game.
“We go into every match with a healthy respect for the opposition.
“We have a look at them tactically but then the focus remains solely on us. We feel if we go about games in the right manner then we will give ourselves the opportunity to get results.”
Turf Moor has been something of a fortress for Burnley this season – but Heaton believes their failed Premier League campaign two seasons ago when they were relegated straight after promotion is more significant.
“We only missed safety by three points,” he said. “The frustrating thing was we were slow starters.
“We wanted to start quicker this season – and we did.’’