NEW England call-up Tom Heaton has thanked Burnley boss Sean Dyche for the impact he has had on his career.

The Clarets boss made the goalkeeper his first permanent signing at Turf Moor in the summer of 2013.

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Heaton had just suffered relegation from the Championship with Bristol City.

Two years on, following a full season in the Premier League, he has the chance to make his senior international debut after being named in Roy Hodgson’s 24-man squad for next month’s games against the Republic of Ireland, in a friendly in Dublin, and the Euro 2016 qualifier away to Slovenia.

And Heaton says he owes much of his recent success to Dyche.

“The manager has put a lot of faith in me,” he said.

“I can’t thank him enough. I absolutely love playing for him and I feel like I’m getting better under his stewardship.

“Hopefully that continues.

“Before he signed me (for Burnley) I signed for him at Watford and for whatever reason it didn’t go through and he left the club.

“A couple of years down the line he comes and signs me and it’s another big indicator for not knowing what’s around the corner.”

Heaton left Manchester United in search of first team football following loan spells at lower league clubs including Wycombe and Rochdale before finding a full-time home at Cardiff and then Bristol City.

“There have been perceived up and downs, for me it’s always been shout the journey and the learning,” he said.

“On the outside you can see relegations and loan spells at different levels of the Football League, but for me there’s always been the path of improvement and progress and that’s certainly not changed.

“It’s a nice accolade to be called into the England squad, but I still want more. I’ll still be striving for more.

“I think I’ve got better again this year and I still feel like I want to keep going up that curve.”

It was Dyche who broke the news to Heaton on Tuesday night, but swore the stiller to secrecy until Thursday’s official announcement.

“We were at the supporters’ player of the year awards and I think the manager received a notification that I was going to be in it (the squad),” he said.

“He gave me a quiet heads up on the side and warned me with my life that if I say anything I’m in serious trouble,” he said.

“I snuck back to the table with a smile on my face but kept it to myself.

“It was great.”

Dyche said: “As manager you become privy to information like that.

“I asked permission to tell him because I was happy not to tell him.

“But they said ‘fire away, but make him aware (not to disclose it)’.

“Things can leak out and it can cause trouble for the powers that be.

“But I was delighted and he was delighted.”

For now, though, Heaton’s focus will not shift from tomorrow’s game at Aston Villa.

“The first thing for me is (tomorrow) and finishing the season off properly,” he said.

“We want to finish with a high, with a win. We know they’re a good side.

“We’ll be going there to try to compete and win the game.

“From then on there’ll be the excitement and the opportunity of the England squad.”