Burnley captain Tom Heaton will be hanging around the phone hoping for England call

Tom Heaton will be waiting around for the phone to ring next week ahead of the England squad announcement.
Burnley's Tom Heaton can't stop the shot from Crystal Palace's Wilfried Zaha.Burnley's Tom Heaton can't stop the shot from Crystal Palace's Wilfried Zaha.
Burnley's Tom Heaton can't stop the shot from Crystal Palace's Wilfried Zaha.

The Burnley captain, who turns 33 next month, is ready to embark on a new journey with the Three Lions after having a bit of time away from the international set-up.

The former Manchester United goalkeeper was on Gareth Southgate's standby list for the World up in Russia after recovering from a shoulder injury but hasn't featured for his country in nearly two years.

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Heaton has made two of his three appearances under Southgate, with the other during Roy Hodgson's reign, but he's hoping to add to that with the first cluster of European Championship qualifiers just around the corner.

With the squad for Group A games against Czech Republic and Montenegro named on Wednesday, he said: “For me, I’m open minded to what can happen.

"It’s someone else’s decision if I get selected. Of course, it’s something I want to do. I would certainly make the most of it.

"I still feel like I’ve got a lot to give. I still harbour massive England ambitions, so we’ll see where it takes me.

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"There'll be no forecasting from me. Of course I'm going there looking to put in a performance, I try to do that every week, but there are never any guarantees with football."

Heaton, who made his only start at the Stade de France against the World champions in the summer of 2017, added: "I know the announcement for the England squad is Wednesday, that's out of my hands, I've obviously got a massive ambition to be involved in it.

"When I was last involved it was some form of notification prior to the announcement, usually the day before. I'll be loitering around the phone on Tuesday.

"It would be incredible if selected. It would be a nice marker for me. Hopefully this will be the next step on another journey."