Keane is looking to keep things tight in the top flight

Defender Michael Keane believes Burnley's resolve and defensive resilience will serve them well in the Premier League.
Clarets defender Michael Keane celebrating a pivotal late equaliser against Brighton at the Amex StadiumClarets defender Michael Keane celebrating a pivotal late equaliser against Brighton at the Amex Stadium
Clarets defender Michael Keane celebrating a pivotal late equaliser against Brighton at the Amex Stadium

The 23-year-old, who made 44 league appearances as the Clarets clinched the Championship title, formed part of a rearguard that kept 20 clean sheets last season, beating the record from the 2013/14 promotion campaign by one.

Sean Dyche’s side hit double figures in the top flight last term as well and the former England Under 21 international is looking to build on that solidity.

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“It’s nice to get 20,” he said. “We beat our record from the last time we went up, which was our aim for the second half of the season.

“We’ve been solid for a while and not conceded many goals, and to finish with three clean sheets in a row is incredible.

“We know we probably won’t have as much of the ball in the Premier League, to be fair we didn’t have a lot this year.

“We’re solid, we all know our jobs, we’ll work hard and get clean sheets.”

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Keane came through the ranks at Manchester United where silverware and success were a requirement.

And having that mentality drilled in to him at Old Trafford has made the centre-half determined to stay in England’s top tier with Burnley.

After getting his hands on “The Lady”, he said: “It’s huge and it’s why we play football. I was brought up that way by United, coming through the youth ranks, and I’ve always had that winning mentality because of them, and to do it here at Burnley is a special moment in my career.

“Leicester have shown anything can happen. It’s a magnificent story and I’m delighted for Leicester. The scenes there gave me goosebumps.

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“You think it’s ridiculous but it shows there’s no reason other clubs can’t go and do it, so you never know.”

With the fixtures for the new season announced on June 15th, Keane added: “We weren’t far off last time.

“There was a couple of games here and there where things didn’t go our way but we bounced back straight away and that’s not easy to do, so hopefully we’ll stay up there next year.

“I’m looking forward to seeing the fixtures. It’s going to be great being back in the Premier League, we had a taste of it last season and we can’t wait to get back.

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“It’s what we play football for, these are the moments you live for, you look at the fixtures and there is a huge game every week to look forward to.

“We’ll go into every game buzzing that we’re there and enjoying who we’re facing.”