TOM Heaton insists Burnley aren’t worried about their Premier League position despite falling to the bottom of the table for the first time since November.

Saturday’s 1-0 defeat at Everton, along with Leicester’s third win in a row, means the Clarets are now propping up the rest of the division with just five games to go.

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They face Leicester at Turf Moor next week in the biggest game of the season so far, and Heaton insists that is a test that this side will relish.

“We won’t get too worried about being bottom of the league,” he said.

“The important thing is we keep trying to put points on the board.

“That starts with Leicester on Saturday. They’re all big games from here on in. Saturday is one we’re relishing.

“We’ll go into it ready to go and we’ll give everything we’ve got.”

Burnley were defeated at Goodison despite Heaton’s heroics from the spot, and he admitted he used ‘gut feel’ to save Ross Barkley’s penalty - with the Everton midfielder not a penalty taker he had researched before the game.

When the Toffees were awarded a 10th minute penalty for a tackle by David Jones that was a yard outside the area, everybody inside Goodison expected Leighton Baines, successful in 15 of his 16 penalties in the Premier League, to step up.

But instead it was Ross Barkley, a player Heaton hadn’t researched from the spot before hand, who took it.

Despite the lack of prior knowledge Heaton dived to his right and kept out Barkley’s effort, his second successful penalty save from the three he has faced this season, having also saved from Dusan Tadic in the win over Southampton.

“There’s a bit of research that goes into it but me and the analyst had half a laugh that he wasn’t actually on the taking list, which is interesting,” said Heaton. “I think it’s the first one he’s taken for Everton.

“Sometimes you just go with your gut feel and that was certainly the case on Saturday. It’s just a shame we couldn’t use that as a base to build from.

“I had Baines down as the number one taker so I was a little bit surprised, but they’ve got enough quality on the pitch, they could probably all take one and do a good job.”

Despite Heaton’s heroics, with Everton scoring only once from eight shots on target, the Clarets came away from Goodison Park and empty handed.

The keeper said it was hard to take much from his own performance because of the result.

“It’s difficult for me to have a good afternoon when we don’t take anything out of it,” he said.

“I was a bit busier than I have been of late, so it’s nice in one respect to get a few more touches on the ball but it’s frustrating not to come away with something.

“It was one of my busiest afternoons of the season, it was always going to be the case. They’re an excellent side.

“They move the ball well with 11 men so when we down to 10 it was always going to be tough.

“But I thought we contained them well in the second half. We caught them on the counter a couple of times and had a few half chances towards the end. Credit to the lads, that shows the fight and desire again, because it was tough out there at 10 against 11 against a team like that.”

Burnley played the whole of the second half with 10 men after Ashley Barnes was sent off in first half stoppage time.

The numbers should have been equalled up early in the second half but referee Mike Jones inexplicably only booked Kevin Mirallas for a horror tackle on George Boyd.

“I’ve heard that Boydy’s one doesn’t look great on the TV,” said Heaton.

“It all happened so quickly and I’m a long way away from it so it’s difficult to say. But you hope these things level themselves out over the season.”