BEN Mee is hoping his man of the match performance against Southampton caught the eye of watching England boss Gareth Southgate.

The Clarets’ captain was the star man in the 1-1 draw at Turf Moor and he chose a good afternoon to claim his first individual award of the season from the sponsors, with Southgate occupying a seat in the directors box three weeks before he picks his next England squad.

The Three Lions face friendlies with Holland and Italy next month as Southgate runs the rule over contenders for his 23-man squad for the World Cup in Russia in the summer.

Mee has been linked with a call-up, while his fellow central defensive colleague James Tarkowski could also be an option if fit.

“You never know what his (Southgate’s) thoughts are, but it’s nice to get man of the match,” Mee said.

“You just concentrate on your own game and don’t worry about anything else.

“To be getting mentioned is all positive. It’s fantastic. Obviously you have ambitions and want to get in the squad.

“You guys (the media) are mentioning it and other people are too. That shows I’m moving forward and the other lads are too, which is great for the club.”

Mee isn’t the only Claret with an eye on the next England squad. Jack Cork will hope he can retain his place having made his debut in November, while Nick Pope and the returning Tom Heaton might find themselves battling each other for a place in the Burnley side and the Three Lions squad.

Southgate faces a dilemma over his goalkeepers. With three set to go to Russia, Joe Hart and Fraser Forster have lost their places at West Ham and Southampton, while Jack Butland made a costly error for Stoke City at the weekend.

That could open the door for Pope, who made a stunning save from Josh Sims in front of Southgate on Saturday.

“He made a fantastic save, a great save. I said that to him,” Mee added.

“Not many goalkeepers would have managed to get to that and he’s managed to touch it onto the post.

“It shows how good a shot stopper he is. I thought his kicking was also good and he looks more comfortable every time he plays with the ball at his feet.”

Pope will soon find Heaton breathing down his neck and Mee believes both can see themselves as realistic contenders for a World Cup place.

“It’s up for grabs,” Mee said of the goalkeeping situation. “Heats is back training with us and he’s going to want to get back in the team. He wants to go to the World Cup too and that’s the healthy competition you need in a squad.”

Burnley were held to a 1-1 draw by Southampton on Saturday with the Saints last minute equaliser coming after referee Bobby Madley got in Ashley Westwood’s way in midfield.

But Mee shrugged off the official’s part in the late leveller.

“I wasn’t too bothered about that. It happens in games, it’s not nice,” he said.

“I know he was probably thinking as soon as it happened ‘don’t score, don’t score’.

“It’s frustrating we didn’t see the game out and defend the cross better and get the three points, which we were desperate to get.”

The draw stretched Burnley’s winless run to 12 games in all competitions and Mee added: “We had a long break without a game and it has been hanging over us. We wanted to put it right, but it wasn’t to be.

“We’ve got another home game next week and we’ll try and do it then. We want to get this off our backs, but we’re still moving forward in the season.

“It’s a fantastic position to be in (in seventh). People will try and peg us down by saying we haven’t won in however many games it is. We want to get that off our backs and look forward to the remainder of the season.”