BEN Mee was appointed the new captain at Burnley following the departure of Tom Heaton for Aston Villa in the summer transfer window.

The Burnley centre half partnered James Tarkowski in Saturday's 3-0 victory over Southampton in the opening game of the new Premier League season - keeping their first clean sheet of the campaign.

Tarkowski was linked with a move away from Turf Moor in the summer window - with Brendan Rodgers and Leicester City thought to potential suitors following the £80 million departure of Harry Maguire to Manchester United.

"Let's face it, Ben has been captain for a season before, and a half a season last season, so I don't think that is a big drama," Sean Dyche said of his new captain, who had previously worn the armband in Heaton's absence.

"We know what we think with Ben and I have a lot of respect for him.

"We have a squad of good people and they are people who care and want to work hard, and that factor is as important as anything for me.

"That collective spirit is an important thing.

"They cover each other, their distances were good and we were a good unit at the back."

The move for Tarkowski never materialised from Leicester with the Burnley boss under no pressure from the club to sell the centre back.

The Foxes knew they would have to part with a big chunk of the fee received from the Maguire transfer, so they decided to not push ahead with the potential deal.

"Tarky deserves a big mention, there has been a lot of noise outside of our camp, but to stay focussed on the job, I have total respect for him and I know the fans have, and the club," added Dyche.

"He stayed calm and delivered a good performance."