TOM Heaton will return to a ground that holds fond memories for him tomorrow as he celebrates his latest England call-up by heading to the place where he made his Three Lions debut.

Burnley might be ready for a return to Turf Moor after four successive weeks on the road but the trip to the Stadium of Light will bring back some favourable memories for Heaton.

The 30-year-old made his England debut at Sunderland's home in May last year, coming off the bench late on as England beat Australia in a pre-Euro 2016 friendly, and tomorrow's clash with the Black Cats (3pm) is the first time he has been back since.

"It was fantastic, I have very fond memories of it," Heaton said of his England bow.

"The lads give me plenty of grief for the six minutes and two touches, but it was a big six minutes for me and I really enjoyed it.

"It’s the first time I’ve been back there since the England debut so I’m very fond it.

"It’s a stadium I enjoy just for that. I really enjoyed that night, it was great."

Heaton might have been teased at Gawthorpe about his brief international debut, but he has since added a second cap, with 45 minutes against Spain at Wembley back in November.

Now the Clarets captain is targetting adding to that collection and he will compete against Joe Hart and Fraser Forster for a place in the friendly with Germany in Dortmund and the World Cup qualifier with Lithuania at Wembley.

"Having had a taste of it, I loved being involved, but on a personal note you want to kick on," the former Manchester United youngster said.

"To do that it’s about performances week in and week out, keep getting stronger with those, so on Saturday’s in the Premier League to be getting those performances right and looking where that takes me."

Heaton is one of two Burnley players winning England recognition again this week, with Michael Keane hoping to win his first cap over this international week, and while having two Clarets in the squad is a sign of Gareth Southgate's willingness to consider players from clubs usually considered less fashionable, Heaton believes the call-ups have been earned the hard way.

"I think it’s on individual merit and the individual players. That’s been shown in my time being involved," he said.

"It’s great, of course everyone wants to be competing at the top end of the table, but Keano is a prime example of that, he’s been outstanding for us this year."

Heaton is a regular in Three Lions' squads now but he revealed he is still proud every time he sees his name on an England squad list.

"It's another proud moment when selected to represent your country. It's a massive honour and they're exciting times," he said.

"It's an away game at Germany so I don't think they get any bigger really. I was fortunate enough to be involved in the last game and it was obviously a fantastic night for all concerned. Hopefully there'll be another one on Wednesday night.

"We've had some very good results; that transition period from the Euros has been good. It's gone how we all wanted it to and there's been no hangover from that so far."