MX23RW : Sunday, February 2 14:39:10| >> :120:6806:6806:

Sean Dyche: "Big fella" Nick Pope pushing for England No. 1 shirt

The Burnley goalkeeper is the main rival to Jordan Pickford for the Three Lions.

Nick Pope is looking to establish himself as England's number one goalkeeper, according to Burnley boss Sean Dyche.

Pope has this season become Dyche's undisputed first choice between the posts and underlined his importance to the Clarets with a stellar display in the 2-1 win against high-flying Leicester last weekend.

Jordan Pickford remains Gareth Southgate's preferred option for England but the Everton shot-stopper's struggles this season have led to speculation that a change could soon be in the offing.

Dyche refused to be drawn on who should be chosen with Euro 2020 on the horizon, but he argued what augurs well for the two-times capped Pope is that there is a lack of top-flight alternatives available to Southgate.

"I have certainly never tried to pick any other manager's teams and I wouldn't do with Gareth," said Dyche, whose side travel to Manchester United on Wednesday evening.

"It seems to me they like him, they think good things of him and there's not many of them around. From a common-sense point of view, you must have a chance if there's only a smaller group of keepers.

"He's certainly got a chance. He's pushing to let people know he's ready. Whether he gets the actual shirt, we'll have to wait and see."

A dislocated shoulder meant Pope did not feature at all in the Premier League last season but the 27-year-old has been an ever-present in this campaign, at the expense of Joe Hart and Tom Heaton, who has moved on to Aston Villa.

Dyche believes there is still more to come from Pope, adding: "He's still learning and still improving.

"For a big fella, he can move quickly, he's agile and he comes off his line well and takes crosses, he's always active with that. He's aggressive in his thinking with that.

"He continues to perform and he continues to round into a mature keeper.

"I've always said that keepers and centre-halves, they take a bit longer to mature into what they become. I think he's in a really, really good place at the minute and he continues to improve."

Pope made a string of saves against the Foxes last Sunday, the best of them when he kept out England team-mate Jamie Vardy's penalty.

Dyche added: "Whenever your centre-forwards play well they'll say 'the centre-forwards are on fire' or whatever terminology. Our keeper played well but it's almost like 'the keeper had to play well'. You know he's allowed to?

"It's interesting when people say 'if he didn't play well then they wouldn't have got a result', and you're like 'he is part of the team, he is allowed to play well'. I actually consider that as a real positive.

"I think that deserves as much credit as a centre-forward being on fire."

ID:386981: cacheID:386981:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:4364:
Written by
P A
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Chelsea manager Frank Lampard applauds on January 11, 2020
Read Next:
Premier League week 24 predictions including Chelsea vs. Arsenal
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Leeds UnitedLeeds30189360194163
2Sheffield UnitedSheff Utd30196541212061
3Burnley30151323692758
4Sunderland291510442241855
5Blackburn RoversBlackburn30136113429545
6West Bromwich AlbionWest Brom301014639271244
7Middlesbrough29128947361144
8Norwich CityNorwich30119104942742
9Bristol City30101283835342
10Sheffield WednesdaySheff Weds30119104346-342
11Coventry CityCoventry30118114138341
12Watford30125134042-241
13Millwall301010103027340
14Queens Park RangersQPR30911103339-638
15Preston North EndPreston3081393338-537
16Oxford UnitedOxford Utd30910113444-1037
17Swansea CitySwansea3097143242-1034
18Stoke CityStoke30711122837-932
19Cardiff CityCardiff30710133351-1831
20Portsmouth3079143652-1630
21Hull City3078153140-929
22Derby CountyDerby3076173241-927
23Luton TownLuton3076173049-1927
24Plymouth ArgylePlymouth30510152963-3425


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!