Burnley's Dwight McNeil wants that licence to thrill at Turf Moor

The England Under 21 international is no stranger to being employed in the middle of the park having operated in a three for the Under 23s during Michael Duff’s time in charge.

The Rochdale-born winger, who has now started 40 Premier League games in succession, briefly featured in an advanced midfield role against Manchester United in the final fixture of 2019 and it’s a position he’d like to see more of in the future.

McNeil, who has contributed to 13 goals in the top flight in just more than 12 months, said: “I’m always looking to get on the ball and impact the game, it’s good to have that licence to be able to do that.

“Duffo introduced it to me for the Under 23s. I played in there as a three and I really enjoyed it in there.

“I’ve got a licence to go in there, which is good to have, and in the future I’d really like to play there.

“You can impact the game a bit more from the inside. In the future I’d really like to play in there. It’s good to have various roles in the team because you’ve got more chances to play. I can play anywhere in the top third.

“I’ve just got to keep on focussing on what I’m doing here at Burnley. It’s where I want to play my football so I want to carry on doing what I’m doing.”

McNeil, who netted his only goal of the campaign in the 4-2 home defeat at the hands of Chelsea in October, says that the objective is to survive for a fourth successive season in the top flight.

“We had a fantastic reaction last season and we managed to stay up,” he said. “For us as a collective we want to stay in the Premier League again and have another successful season.

“For me personally I just want to keep doing what I’m doing. I’ve had some ups and some downs, but it’s good to have the lads and the gaffer around me.

“For me it’s been a dream and hopefully I can push on from here. It’s been a really good experience for me.”