ASHLEY Barnes has hailed goalkeeper Nick Pope as the Clarets’ player of the season so far as he continues to impress in the absence of Tom Heaton.

Pope was in fine form against Southampton on Saturday, making a stunning save from Josh Sims in the second half in front of watching England boss Gareth Southgate.

That has led to more speculation that Pope could yet force his way into Southgate’s plans for the Three Lions, and Barnes is full of praise for the way the 25-year-old has performed this season.

The clash with Southampton was Pope’s 24th Premier League start since he came on for the injured Heaton in the 1-0 win over Crystal Palace on September 10.

“Nick Pope has been player of the season, 100 per cent already, player of the season,” Barnes said of the former Charlton Athletic goalkeeper.

“Since he came in the amount of games he has saved us has been fantastic.

"He deserves to be on that next level (with England) but of course that’s not our decision to make.”

The three goalkeeping spots in Southgate’s 23-man squad for the World Cup in Russia are up for grabs, with Joe Hart and Fraser Forster on the bench for their clubs with Jordan Pickford and Jack Butland also in contention.

That could yet open the door for Pope, and asked if the Turf stopper was playing himself into England contention Barnes said: “Yes, 100 per cent, we see it day in, day out in training.

“You see the things he does. You saw that one save he made (on Saturday). It was unbelievable. He saved us that goal but unfortunately other things happened in the game.”

Pope isn’t the only Claret hoping to force his way into the England goalkeeping picture, with Heaton back from a shoulder injury and closing in on a first-team return.

That will lay down a challenge to Pope to keep the gloves for Burnley.

“They’re fantastic goalies. We need competition all over the pitch and we have that,” Barnes added.

“Going back to Nick, he has been tremendous. There are people in the wings too. But he has taken his chance and deserves to be in that starting line-up.”

Barnes was furious at seeing Burnley’s lead against the Saints wiped out on Saturday when Bobby Madley got in Ashley Westwood’s way in midfield, leading to a counter that led to Manolo Gabbiadini equalising.

That cancelled out Barnes’ fifth goal of the season and extended Burnley’s winless run to 12 games in all competitions.

“It was a very frustrating afternoon. I don’t think we deserved that one bit. We were dominant for most of the game. We should have come out with the points,” Barnes said.

“We were very, very angry in the changing room. But what can you do? When luck is against you it’s against you.

“We believe in the group. We will fight tooth and nail, everyone goes through a bad patch and hopefully we can come out of it next weekend.”