TOM Heaton is hoping to use his return to action for Burnley as a stepping stone to forcing his way into the Clarets’ Premier League team.

The club captain made his first competitive appearance in 348 days in the Europa League play-off first leg against Olympiakos in Athens and admitted he’d been ‘thrown into the lion’s den’.

Heaton hadn’t played competitively since a dislocated shoulder against Crystal Palace on September 10 last year, but his return to the team was certainly a memorable one.

Burnley were beaten 3-1 by the Greek giants in a controversial game at the Karaiskakis Stadium, but Heaton relished being back in action.

“It felt fantastic. It’s been a long old journey, 11-and-a-half months since my last competitive game, so it was brilliant to be back out there,” the 32-year-old said.

“It’s the first step on the ladder for me and I’m looking forward to kicking on from there.

“I feel more resilient, I’m feeling hungrier than ever, I’m feeling in great shape. I’m delighted to be back, even though I was thrown straight into the lion’s den at a very tough place to go.

“I loved every minute of it and it was brilliant to be back out there.”

Heaton faces competition to return for a Premier League spot, with Joe Hart arriving in the summer following the injury to Nick Pope, and the former Manchester City goalkeeper has started the first two domestic fixtures.

Asked about getting back into the league XI, Heaton said: “That’s the aim. We’ve got a great goalkeeping department at the moment, a lot of competition, but I can’t hide away from the fact that my aim is to get back playing in the Premier League. I want to get going that way.

“There are five senior goalkeepers so it’s a strong department but I’m looking forward to embracing that and I’ve taken the first step on my personal journey. You don’t shy away from the competition and I’ll meet it head on.”

Heaton took the armband again on his return to action and it was a tough night for the Clarets, who excelled in the first half but were then on the wrong end of a controversial refereeing decision when Slavko Vincic penalised Ben Gibson for handball in the box and showed him a second yellow card.

The partisan atmosphere may have played a part, but for Heaton it was an occasion to relish.

“It was incredible,” he added. “We knew what to expect but when you get here and realise what it’s about and you hear it, it’s incredible. It’s great to play in.

“They are a big player in European football but this is what we wanted and this is the sort of tie that we needed.

“It was tough, the pitch was poor, a little bit of questionable refereeing in the second half, but we’re still in it and we’re looking forward to getting back to Turf Moor with the crowd behind us and seeing what we can do.”

Heaton also hailed the Clarets fans in Athens.

He added: “I’m so impressed with the travelling support. It’s a Thursday, four hours away on a plane. I had a look at flights for my Dad and my wife but I found it difficult.

“I was speaking to somebody in the airport and hearing about some of the layovers. Some of the places fans are arriving via is incredible. Real credit to them and it was great to have them here supporting us. We had a great backing.”