Clarets goalkeeper signs three-year deal

Burnley's Thomas Heaton Photo by Dave Howarth/CameraSport

The Clarets stopper (28), who had one-year left on his existing deal, plus an option for a further year, was Burnley’s number one throughout the 2013/14 campaign and kept 19 clean sheets in the league.

And, having put pen to paper on a deal that sees him commit to Turf Moor until 2017, Heaton is relishing the chance to help Burnley prosper in the Premier League, after making a bold prediction they would one day re-join the elite when he first signed.

He sai: “It was certainly the ambition when I signed here only 12 months ago and obviously it was a fantastic season.

“It’s great to be a part of it, and I’m looking forward to hopefully being a bit part of it going forward.

“We will set our stall out ambitious again and the aim is to stay in the Premier League and then kick on from there.

“I think I’m the eternal optimism but you never know what you can achieve and I think I’ve been in the game long enough to know what is around the corner if you do things properly.

“If you do that as individuals and a collective then you give yourself a great chance and that will certainly be the motto from me again.

“I feel that personally I have got more to come and I’m really excited to show that here.”

Heaton joined Burnley from Bristol City where, despite impressing, the former Manchester United man saw the Robins relegated.

Heaton believes Burnley can continue to prove their doubters wrong. “We’re certainly confident and we have got the same belief we had last year,” he said.

“We’ll go about it with same mentality and the same philosophy and if we do that we’re going to give ourselves a great chance.

“People will write us off but we’ll just try to go about our business the way we did last year and hopefully that will stand us in good stead.

“When I left Manchester United a few years ago the aim was to get back to the Premier League and be playing.

“That aim has certainly not changed for me and to do it is obviously great.

“But now it is down to business and giving a real good go of it.”