THE growing band of international footballers at Turf Moor is helping to dispel the tag of 'little old Burnley', according to Ashley Barnes.

It may be that Barnes is the next Claret to move onto the international stage, with Austria boss Franco Foda keep to make the 28-year-old part of his squad.

Nick Pope and James Tarkowski are both in the latest England squad and they will be aiming to become the 13th and 14th members of Sean Dyche's squad to be capped while playing their club football at Turf Moor.

Tom Heaton and Jack Cork have also played for England while at Burnley and Barnes believes those call-ups are changing perceptions around the club.

“It’s tremendous. It’s remarkable for them, everyone is buzzing for them," the striker said of Pope and Tarkowski.

"It’s showing what Burnley are now, it’s not little old Burnley anymore, we’ve got internationals now and especially for England, it’s amazing."

The growing group of internationals at Burnley are another sign of the incredible progress the club have made under Dyche.

Barnes was the manager's first cash signing at Turf Moor, joining from Brighton for £450,000 midway through the first promotion campaign.

He recently signed a contract extension that will keep him at the club until the summer of 2021 and reflecting on the progress, he said: “It’s crazy to think where we’ve come from.

"When I first joined we were in a little building over the road. Now we’ve got a good training complex, it’s attracted bigger players as well as those of us who were here.

"It’s only going one way and that is up."

Barnes has written his name into the Turf Moor history books, with his 17 Premier League goals for Burnley leading the way for the Clarets in that competition.

Six of those have come this season and the Bath-born striker is determined to end the campaign as the club's top goalscorer, having netted seven in all competition, the same tally as record signing Chris Wood.

“My aim is to finish top goalscorer for us this season," said Barnes.

"I set a target at the start of the season, but I’m still a long way off. Hopefully I can get there in the last eight games."