Ben Mee Burnley
Posted in2021-2022-Season Daily News

#PLStories- Burnley captain Ben Mee backs Wout Weghorst to make impact in Premier League #BURNLEYFC

February 5, 2022
BURNLEY captain Ben Mee has backed new signing Wout Weghorst to prove a handful for Premier League defences as the Clarets battle against the drop. Sean Dyche’s side can move off the foot of the table as they host fellow strugglers Watford in the weekend’s only top-flight fixture. Weghorst is expected to be included in the Burnley squad after joining from Wolfsburg for a reported £12 million during a January transfer window which saw Chris Wood join relegation rivals Newcastle. The Holland international has big boots to fill in leading the line at Turf Moor but Mee, who has now spent time training alongside the 29-year-old, believes he can make his mark. “He looks a handful,” he said. “He is a good quality player who comes with a lot of experience as well, hopefully we can bed him in early and he hits the ground running. “There is more to his game than just his 6ft 6in frame and hopefully we can utilise that as well as getting the ball into the box to him.” Burnley saw a host of fixtures postponed during January due to coronavirus and injuries ruling out a number of players. Watford head north two points clear of their hosts having played two more games. While Mee admits he would rather have points on the board, he feels Burnley can deal with the challenge of facing a side with a new boss since the appointment of Roy Hodgson at Vicarage Road. “It is better having the points but the position we are in now, it is nice to have those games in hand because we know we can catch up,” said Mee, who toasted a decade as a permanent Burnley player last month. “Obviously we would rather have points on the board and we need to put them up there with these games in hand. “We know we have got quite a lot to catch up on but we have got something to aim for and hopefully we can use those games in hand wisely. “There is always potential of a new manager bounce; it is a massive game for us and hopefully the fans can get behind us and we can make it a really good occasion.” A goalless draw at Arsenal last time out has instilled more belief in the Burnley survival bid – but they have had to wait nearly two weeks to build on that point. “It has been frustrating,” added Mee. “We’ve been stop, start. Ready to go for games and then a couple of hours before you’re getting told it is being postponed which is really frustrating. “A few of the games we felt we were in a good position to go and play the game with the squad feeling good and had every chance to go and get some points. “The Arsenal game felt really good, we defended really well and as a group, as a unit we played well and got a really good point. “It was frustrating to have another week with no games but we have some coming up now and need to make them count.”
Sean Dyche Burnley
Posted in2021-2022-Season Daily News

#PLStories- Ben Mee ruled out of Burnley’s trip to Man City after testing positive for Covid-19 #BURNLEYFC #MCFC

October 15, 2021
BURNLEY captain Ben Mee is ruled out of Saturday’s trip to Manchester City after testing positive for Covid-19. The defender missed the Clarets’ goalless draw with Norwich City in their last outing before the international break. Nathan Collins – who joined from Stoke City over the summer - made his first Premier League start in Mee’s absence. Collins also made his international debut during the break, coming off the bench for in the Republic of Ireland’s 4-0 win over Qatar on Tuesday night. Dyche has been impressed with the young defender and believes he has what it takes to rise to the occasion at the Etihad. “He is moulding himself into a Premier League player, playing can only enhance that,” said the Burnley boss. “He has made a decent start in the cup games and he played well against Norwich. He is delivering in training and he has a real intent to improve and I have enjoyed it. “If he plays on Saturday, it will be very tough against Man City, but that is how you learn and progress.” Meanwhile, Matej Vydra is “touch and go” after picking up a knock while on international duty with the Czech Republic. Charlie Taylor is also a doubt for the Etihad, but summer signing Maxwel Cornet is available after suffering a hamstring injury in the 2-2 draw at Leicester City last month. Johann Berg Gudmundsson is also available despite missing Iceland’s recent World Cup qualifiers. Another summer signing could be involved in the squad, with full back Connor Roberts having started Wales’ victory over Estonia in midweek. That decision prompted raised eyebrows from Dyche and Roberts is likely to have to wait a bit longer to be in the picture for a starting berth at Burnley. “I felt it was a bit premature to start him in the game but he came through it well so that’s no problem,” Dyche added. “He’s trained today so no effects of that. He still needs more game time for me, he’s been out for a quite a long while. “We’ll probably try to get him involved in and around it because that’s an important part of his settling period. “We’re still learning about Connor because he’s hardly played any football. We do believe in him, quite obviously, that’s why we brought him here but we’ve got two very, very strong full backs.”
Ben Mee Burnley
Posted in2021-2022-Season Daily News

#PLStories – #BenMee reveals confidence in surviving bad start to the season (similar to last season) #BurnleyFC

October 1, 2021
BURNLEY captain Ben Mee insists he and his team-mates aren’t panicking after taking two points from their opening six matches and believes they can draw on experiences of seasons gone by to turn things around. Only Norwich - this weekend’s visitors to Turf Moor - sit below Burnley in the embryonic standings of the Premier League, but Mee says the Clarets are used to overcoming troughs in form. They had to wait until their eighth league game for a win in the last campaign but finished 11 points clear of the relegation zone, and Mee feels their displays then were inferior to what they have produced in recent weeks. He said: “I think it would play on our minds a bit more if we weren’t playing well and we were really struggling and not being able to get going. But it’s not been the case. We’ve actually had some really good performances. “I don’t think the performances were quite there last season (early on), I think we were getting beaten probably deservedly a lot of the time. But this season there’s a bit of a change in performances and energy. “We’ve been in the situation a lot previously, we don’t want to be but we have been. We’re experienced as players, we’ve got the same players that have been here for a long time and have been through these experiences. “We’re usually underdogs going into every game so it’s no different for us. We all know ourselves as players, where we’re at and where we need to be and how we need to move up the table. “I’ve got every confidence that we will – we’re a good side. We’ve got a good squad, it feels like the squad’s come together well and that improves the feeling round the place.” Burnley twice went ahead at Leicester last Saturday but settled for a 2-2 draw after being pegged back by a Jamie Vardy double, while Chris Wood’s last-gasp headed goal was chalked off for offside. It is the fourth game where Burnley have let slip a one-goal lead this term while they have conceded 11 times this season, and Mee admitted he and the rest of the backline need to improve. He added: “We need to do better, we know that. We’ve got a good unit defensively, a good unit as a group, as a team. “Maybe we’re playing a little bit more open, scoring a few more goals, that’s maybe contributing towards conceding a few more. We’ll get it right, we’re certainly looking at it and working on it. “We can do a job in this league, we have done for many years and we just need to get our focus back as a whole unit, as a team as well.” Burnley can give themselves a boost while looking to deepen the gloom at newly-promoted Norwich, who have lost all six matches on their return to the top-flight. Mee said: “I fully expect us to go to our ground full of confidence and take the game to them and show we are favourites and dominate the game. “I hope we will and I’m fully confident we will.”
Ben Mee Burnley
Posted in2020-2021-Season Daily News

#PLStories- Burnley captain #BenMee wants Burnley to make a quick start in Premier League #BURNLEYFC

July 19, 2021
The Clarets won just one of their opening 10 Premier League games last season before pulling clear of danger to make sure of a sixth straight season in the top flight. That kicks off at Turf Moor against Brighton on August 14 and skipper Mee has been impressed by how the squad have looked on their return to Barnfield. “The lads have come back the best I have seen,” Mee told the club. “Everyone has been putting the work in in the off-season, definitely. Everyone is doing the running and looking really good. That's exciting and we all are raring to go. “That's definitely a priority to get points under our belts early on and get off to a good start. We don't want to be relying on a good second half of this season. “We want to get off to a good start and work from there. “We have got plenty of experience and we are always optimistic, enthusiastic of where we can go in the season and it's no different this season.” Burnley’s public friendlies begin at League Two Oldham on Saturday, July 24. Further EFL tests come at Championship sides Blackpool, July 27, and Nottingham Forest, July 31. Sean Dyche’s side are also playing behind closed doors games but Mee admits being in front of fans again is a big incentive for all involved. “The Euros have given a bit of a taste of having fans back and how much that means," he said. “Having 3,500 at Turf Moor for the Liverpool game was brilliant and gave us a good buzz. “I am really excited to start the season and get that first game under way, hopefully all being well and fingers crossed, at a packed Turf Moor. “Fans behind us at Turf Moor will hopefully bring back that 'tough place to come mentality' and we can use that to our advantage.”