‘We can survive’ - Tom Heaton

The Clarets’ saviour against the Saints was rewarded with a fifth clean sheet of the term when thwarting Dusan Tadic from the spot, ending the club’s run of 29 consecutive successful Premier League penalties.

The 28-year-old has the same amount of clean sheets this season as Chelsea’s Thibaut Courtois and is only two short of divisional leader Fraser Forster.

Heaton, who kept 19 blanks in the Championship during the 2013/14 campaign, said: “One thing that has been a factor last season and this again is that we’ve got resilience.

“Once we get our noses in front we’ve got the belief and the confidence we can hold on with the shape of the team, that goes from back to front really. We’re a tough side to break down so if you’ve got something to hold on to you can make it tough for teams.

“We feel it’s a great challenge and a great opportunity, everyone is enjoying it and we feel we’ve got a great chance of being successful, which is staying in the league for us.

“If we can keep that defensive framework and keep the ball out of the net we are going to have a great chance of doing that.”

Heaton added: “It’s not just the back four, it’s the midfield in front of that. I’ve played in front of back fours that have been excellent but if the midfield goes missing you’re up against it.

“I think from back to front we have a very good system, everyone knows their job, even the players coming in. Danny Lafferty comes in for his first appearance of the season with 10 minutes to go, 1-0 up on a cold, wet, windy night and it’s not easy.

“Fair play to him, he went about it in the right manner, and Michael Keane as well. We’ve got players that come in and do the job.”

Heaton is no stranger to handling the pressure that facing a penalty poses. The one-time Manchester United trainee saved a spot kick on his league debut for Swindon Town, he then denied Steven Gerrard in a League Cup final for Cardiff City against Liverpool at Wembley in February 2012, he saved from 12 yards in a pre-season friendly for the Clarets against Carlisle United at Brunton Park last year and went on to stop Johnny Russell’s kick against Derby County that season.

“There’s always an element of guessing but to be fair to the analyst every game this season I’ve had a sheet and a video to look through,” he said. “Tadic was on that sheet and there was a lot of green dots on that sheet!

“You have an idea of where he likes to go and thankfully it’s landed at the right place. It’s a bit of a lottery, you try and put things in your favour.

“I always try and apply myself and try and make sure they’re aware I’m there. Then you’re in the lap of the Gods really, you get after it and be committed to what you’ve chosen.”