AFTER getting a season of Premier League football under his belt at centre back Ben Mee is aiming to step up a level this year as he eyes a place in the England squad.

Mee was a regular for the Clarets at the heart of the defence last season and impressed throughout the campaign, and he has started this season in fine form.

Last year it was his partner Michael Keane who attracted the plaudits, forcing his way into Gareth Southgate’s Three Lions squad and winning two England caps while at Turf Moor.

After Keane’s move to Everton, Mee is now the senior man at the back for Burnley, and he sees no reason why he can’t kick on and try and force his way into international reckoning, with the reward of a World Cup coming next summer.

Mee has never made any secret of his England ambitions, but he is making a concerted effort this year to try and impress the England boss, who has been a regular at Turf Moor.

“It’s definitely an ambition of mine and something I might focus more on this season,” the 27-year-old said.

“Last season I just wanted to play well in the Premier League and maybe this season I want to kick on and improve up to that standard. I’ll be knocking on the door I guess and working as hard as I can to try and do that.”

Southgate took in a handful of Burnley games last season and Keane followed Turf skipper Tom Heaton into the England squad while at Burnley.

The Three Lions chief has continued to show a willingness to look further down the Premier League table for players at the start of this season, with Leicester City’s Harry Maguire and Watford’s former Burnley loanee Nathaniel Chalobah in the squad during this international break.

That gives Mee hope that he can still impress enough to fulfil his own international ambitions.

“There are a lot of good players around the teams,” he said.

“There are good players around the middle and lower teams that could probably do a job in a position in the squad but that’s their decision and we just have to work hard and try and catch the eye.

“It’s an ambition, it’s something I’ve always wanted to do so I’ll be working hard this year to catch the eye and see what happens.”