Burnley defender Matt Lowton proud to make 100th Clarets appearance

The 29-year-old full back has enjoyed plenty of success since making his first appearance for the club in a 1-1 draw against Nottingham Forest.

Lowton played 27 times in the Championship as Sean Dyche’s side clinched the title to return to the top flight at the first time of asking.

They’ve since secured Premier League survival for the first time and earned a seventh place finish, which brought European football for the first time in more than half-a-century.

After hitting treble figures in a 3-1 win over AFC Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium, which lifted the Clarets eight points clear of Cardiff City, he said: “I’m very proud. Since I joined I loved every minute of it.

“The manager was great when speaking to him during that summer and bringing me in. Everything he’s said has been proven right.

“Training is fantastic all week, the lads are an unbelievable bunch to work with, everyone’s in it together. It’s just so good to work with all week and to make that 100th appearance, I’m very happy.

“When I joined in the Championship, it was a great season personally and for the club with winning the league. It was a great feeling and then pushing on from there, we stayed up against the odds.

“Then finishing seventh last year, it’s gone from strength to strength and we’ll be looking to push on next season.”

The one-time Sheffield United defender, who joined the Clarets from Aston Villa in 2015, could potentially face both of his former clubs in the Premier League next season following a near perfect performance on the South Coast.

The visitors responded well to going behind to Ashley Barnes’s own goal in the fourth minute and became the only club outside the top six to beat the Cherries on their own patch in 20 games.

“After going one down early, we showed a lot of character to stay in the game and take over,” Lowton said. “I thought we had a lot of the ball and they didn’t create too many chances. We took our chances when they came, so credit to the lads.

“I thought we did everything perfectly apart from the first goal, obviously. Barnesy headed in to his own net - he wants to score in every goal, bless him!

“After that we did everything right, the shape was great. Everyone to a man was fantastic and that’s why we’ve come away with three points. The game plan worked fantastically.”