Sean Dyche believes in-form Burnley goalkeeper Nick Pope is not the only one in his squad playing well enough to be considered for England selection.
Pope earned the praise of Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp after pulling off a series of “sensational” saves as the Clarets ended the Reds’ 100 per cent home record in the league by holding them to a 1-1 draw on Saturday.
The 28-year-old is in the running for the Premier League’s Golden Glove award after keeping 14 clean sheets this campaign, further enhancing his prospects of becoming a future England number one.
Dyche insists that Pope deserves the plaudits he has been receiving but thinks his team-mates James Tarkowski and Dwight McNeil have also done enough to be in England boss Gareth Southgate’s thoughts.
Speaking at his press conference ahead of Wednesday’s visit of Wolves, the Burnley boss said: “I’ve always said I’ve never got in the way of Gareth’s choosing of the side. I get on well with Gareth when I speak to him.
“Would I offer the obvious that he (Pope) is playing very well? Yes.
“I think James Tarkowski as well is playing very well, amongst others – Dwight.
“Dwight’s getting towards a full season in the Premier League at 20 years old. After playing half a season last season he’s hardly missed a minute, to be fair to the lad.
“So there are three I’d certainly offer are playing well enough to be considered.
“Obviously Pope’s got some accolades and rightly so. Some by just doing the basics very well, which he did against Sheffield United, and then some making really big saves like he did on Saturday.”
Burnley are enjoying a good run of form, recording three wins and two draws in their last five games.
Another player who has shone during Burnley’s recent run is Jay Rodriguez, whose leveller against champions Liverpool was his third goal in his last four games.
Dyche has been pleased with Rodriguez’s contribution and is relishing the prospect of being able to select from a full-strength attacking unit next season when Ashley Barnes returns from injury.
“He (Rodriguez) is doing a good job,” added Dyche. “I think he is enjoying his football, which is always a good sign, and when Barnes gets fit I think there is a good clutch of strikers there.
“Particularly, with all due respect, for the market that we’re in I think we’ve got together four really good strikers.”
Dyche knows all about the threat posed by sixth-placed Wolves, who returned to winning ways with a 3-0 win over Everton last time out.
He said: “I like what they do, I like their side. I think they’ve got a good mixture in the squad that they’ve got.
“Nothing but positives from me for what they try to achieve and how they go about it.”
Dyche revealed that Jack Cork’s minor ankle operation had gone well but said the midfielder will not feature again this season.
Ben Mee is also likely to remain sidelined for Burnley’s remaining games along with Matt Lowton and Barnes, who are both making progress.
