BURNLEY have ‘nothing to fear’ from a trip to Anfield this weekend, according to stand-in goalkeeper Nick Pope.

The Clarets were handed a tough start on the road when the Premier League fixtures were released, but they’ve banished last season’s away day blues to take four points from trips to Chelsea and Tottenham, last season’s top two, already this campaign.

Life doesn’t get much easier for Burnley on their travels, with a meeting against Liverpool on Saturday, but Pope insists they will head to Merseyside full of confidence and last weekend’s home win over Crystal Palace has seen the Clarets move above Jurgen Klopp’s side in the table.

“It’s a massive club and a great stadium, but we’ve got nothing to fear now, we’ve been to Chelsea and Tottenham and got four points,” said Pope.

“A lot of noise was made about the away record, but we’ve equipped ourselves really well this season and we’ve deserved the points we’ve got.”

Pope is set for a first Premier League start at Anfield, having come off the bench at Turf Moor against Palace when Tom Heaton suffered a dislocated shoulder in the first half.

The injury blow is likely to rule the Clarets captain out for months rather than weeks, in the process handing 25-year-old Pope the chance to impress in the top flight.

He paid tribute to Heaton’s influence at the club, both on and off the pitch, and believes he has learnt from the England man on the training ground since his move from Charlton in the summer of 2016.

“Since moving from Charlton I’ve been training with Premier League players week in and week out and that’s helped my growth,” said Pope. “Billy (Mercer, goalkeeping coach) and Tom have been a massive help for me, we’ve got a really good group.

“I’m massively disappointed for Tom, seeing him go down like that was disappointing, he’s a top guy and I wish him a speedy recovery.

“He’s been awesome, all of last season and the start of this season he’s been top drawer, not just as a player but as a person as well off the pitch and as a captain.”

Heaton’s misfortune has handed Pope his chance in the top flight and he admits it’s one every young footballer dreams off.

As a former Ipswich Town youngster, and a fan of the Tractor Boys, his favourite memories of the league often labelled the best in the world come from Ipswich’s days mixing it with the elite, and he cites an unexpected choice as a goalkeeper he looked up to as a youngster.

“That’s what you watch as a kid on TV, everyone stays up and watches Match of the Day and my family is massive on sport so we watch every game we can really,” he said.

“It’s come on and grown over the years and it’s really nice to be a part of it now.

“I was an Ipswich fan growing up so I looked up to Richard Wright. We were in the Premier League in the early 2000s, we finished fifth in our first year, but we’ve not been in for a while now.

“Since then you watch it grow every year, it’s why it’s the biggest league in the world, because of the entertainment and the quality on show.”