Ben Mee backs ‘handful’ Wout Weghorst to make Premier League impact

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 £12million 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 Champions League-chasing 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.

“It has been a frustrating part of our season, really. 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.”