TOM Heaton is backing Burnley to use their experience of a Premier League relegation battle two years ago over the final 10 games of this campaign.

The Clarets skipper was one of nine members of the current squad who battled valiantly to stay in the top flight in 2014/15 before falling just short.

England goalkeeper Heaton believes that experience can help during this run-in even if Burnley are in a much better position.

Two years ago the Clarets were three points adrift of safety whereas now they are seven points clear of the bottom three with 10 games to go.

"There probably is a benefit to that because it's still fresh in the memory of having gone through it,” Heaton said of the 2014/14 finale.

“I thought we handled it well and we finished strongly that season - I think we only missed out by three points. We picked up some good results in the last few games.

“You only hope that these experiences give you a little bit of strength, albeit it that we're in a stronger position than what we were then. It's important to recognise that, keep positive and keep pushing forward.”

He added: "There's probably a little bit more belief and confidence. We've put ourselves in a better position so justifiably really I think there's a bit more evidence there.

“It was new to pretty much everyone a couple of seasons ago but we've got more strength in depth now. The whole thing has moved forward but, with that said, it's important that every time we go out there the job has got to be done. Experience doesn't count for anything unless you go out and do the job.”

Burnley had 22 points at this stage in 2014/15 compared to the 31 they have now.

They enter this weekend 12th in the Premier League table and while Heaton is delighted with the first 28 games of the season he warns there is a still long way to go if the Clarets are to secure Premier League survival.

"We've put ourselves in a really healthy position,” he said.

“We've had a strong points tally up to this point but with 10 games left there's still a long way to go.

“There's no patting ourselves on the back here because we know there's still a lot of work to be done.

“We're embracing the journey and we want to see where we can go. There's no resting on our laurels; we're trying to step on and keep going up the table. That's the focus at the moment.”

Burnley will look to move a step closer to survival against Sunderland today (3pm) and although they are bottom of the league Heaton is still expecting a tough game.

"Where they're sat in the table at the moment it can be tough but I think they've had some really good results,” he said.

“We've had some good games against them earlier in the season. We're going up to their turf on Saturday and we're expecting a tough game and we'll expect them to be fighting for their lives.”