Former Burnley captain Ben Mee opens up on relationships with Sean Dyche and James Tarkowski, failed contract negotiations and supporting Vincent Kompany's Clarets from afar!

The 33-year-old centre-back, who has since played 13 times in the Premier League for Brentford, left rather unceremoniously following an 11-year spell with the Clarets.

The defender made 376 appearances for the club in all competitions after being brought to the club by now Newcastle United boss Eddie Howe, initially on loan from Manchester City, ahead of the 2011/12 campaign.

The long-serving ex-skipper, who supported Mike Jackson's short stint as caretaker boss at the back end of last term prior to his exit, was snapped by by the Bees as a free agent after his contract had expired.

After watching the club fall from the top flight following a final day defeat at home to Newcastle United, he told Kate Mason, on 'The Drop In' podcast by Football Ramble: "The circumstances of leaving the club weren't ideal, leaving when the club had been relegated was tough after being there for so long.

"I cared about the club, the people that were there and everyone around it, so it was tough to leave. Right up until the last day I didn't really know how it was going to go, we were really positive about it, but a lot happened in those final seven or eight weeks or so."

Despite a long, and seemingly healthy, relationship with Sean Dyche, and being a part of his entire tenure, Mee inferred that his ties with the former boss had become frayed in the latter stages.

The ex-Leicester City loan star, speaking about his final campaign at the club, said: "It was very frustrating. There were no excuses, we hadn't been good enough all season. It was difficult, we had a few knocks along the way.

"We got away with it a little bit in a couple of seasons; we hadn't done as well as what we could have been and then we'd rally towards the end and stayed up. You can't rely on doing that every season. You need to improve, move forward and we'd stood still for some time.

"There are a number of reasons; investment, lack of ideas, it was a frustrating time for three years or so. I don't know if it was obvious [Sean Dyche's departure], there was the timing of it with it being so close to the end of the season.

"The players rallied, we give it a real good go, and I'm not sure we'd have got those points on the board if we'd have carried on with the way we were going. The chairman [Alan Pace] made the decision and we were close to staying up.

"In and around the media and the press he [Dyche] would joke around. He wasn't scary, he was a little bit stand-offish at the end. At the beginning he was very approachable, and somewhere in between."

At this point, Mee asks the host to move on, suggesting there had been a shift in their relationship in the final chapter of their time together.

Mee, who has netted twice for the Bees this season, against Manchester United and Wolves, said he would have liked to have extended his stay at Burnley, but there were too many contravening factors that prevented this from happening.

The Sale-born father-of-two had been side-lined with a leg fracture, sustained in a 2-0 loss to the Foxes at the beginning of March, but had been in negotiations with the club and his representative over a new deal.

However, amid claims that several of his team-mates had been expected to take 80% pay cuts, he admitted that conversations surrounding a revised contract simply stalled and fizzled out.

Mee said: "I would have liked to have been there for a long time. My idea was to keep them in the Premier League for as long as possible.

"I enjoyed playing there so I had no reason to leave, but things change and they move on. Ultimately, I wanted to play in the Premier League, so there were a few reasons why I had to leave in the end.

"I wasn't sure the club was going to reinvest as well, I knew a few players were going to be leaving, and then what I got offered contract-wise was never going to work and a few of the other lads were being offered 80% pay cuts.

"It wasn't on the table. It wasn't offered to me. I was offered a contract on April 25th, but nothing after that. I wasn't made aware of anything that was available, there was no contact after that, so that was it done."

He added: "It's very difficult for somebody to take that when they know they can probably play a bit higher. I was unsure so I had to make a decision."

"There were a lot of factors; it's how you're valued, but it's about a lot of different scenarios. Is the club going to come back up in the Premier League, is it going to do everything it can to do that?

"They had Tarky leaving, Popey, Collo, Dwight [McNeil], Max [Cornet] leaving, a lot of players were going, so you're thinking 'if I stay am I just being left behind?'

"As much as you want to help the club, you've got to think about your career. I'm 33 now and I want to make the most of what I can and I want to play in the Premier League for as long as possible. Loads of things were going through my mind."

In the end Mee was one of 13 players to exit through the back door, alongside defensive partner James Tarkowski, who consequently signed for Frank Lampard's Everton.

Mee confessed that the pair didn't get off to the best start following the former Oldham Athletic centre-half's move in February 2016, with the pair in competition for a place in the side.

Tarkowski's game time was limited, owing to the form of Mee and Michael Keane. "I've always managed it pretty well. I think everybody in the dressing room knows they're in competition with each other. The aim is to be in the team, everyone gets that. Tarky was a good example when he came to Burnley.

"I'd just started playing centre-half at that point, I'd moved from left back, and he'd come from Brentford. It was quite funny really because I think he thought he was going to come straight in the team and I was going to move to left back.

"I really wanted to play centre-half and I felt like that was my position; I'd been waiting ages to play there. Tarks came in and I thought that I was going to have to play well, and keep playing well.

"I ended up playing the rest of the season and I think Tarky was a bit frustrated that he wasn't in the team, I don't think our relationship got off to the best of starts, and because of that we weren't really that close. We're friends now and we ended up playing for a long time together. That relationship went well."

Mee might now be stationed in West London, helping Thomas Frank's side in the top flight, but he's still keeping an eye on the Clarets, who are now managed by ex-City team-mate Vincent Kompany.

Mee, overlooked by England throughout his career, was in the matchday squad alongside the Premier League Hall of Hamer for his one and only start for the Citizens.

The ex-Belgium international was an unused substitute during a 2-1 defeat to West Brom at The Hawthorns in the League Cup in September 2010. And he admits to keeping an eye on the current Championship leaders.

"The club is doing really well and I'm enjoying watching them from afar," he said. "I'm still very much a fan, I know Vincent [Kompany] from my time at City, so I'm really pleased that he's doing really well as well.

"The boys that are still there are doing fantastically so hopefully they can go on to do really well. Hopefully we'll be playing against them next season."