Clarets' DNA will remain intact '“ Tom

Clarets skipper Tom Heaton believes the team's DNA is more important than individual players.
Burnley's Tom Heaton in action during todays match  
 

Photographer Alex Dodd/CameraSport

The Premier League - Burnley v Crystal Palace - Saturday 5th November 2016 - Turf Moor - Burnley

World Copyright © 2016 CameraSport. All rights reserved. 43 Linden Ave. Countesthorpe. Leicester. England. LE8 5PG - Tel: +44 (0) 116 277 4147 - admin@camerasport.com - www.camerasport.comBurnley's Tom Heaton in action during todays match  
 

Photographer Alex Dodd/CameraSport

The Premier League - Burnley v Crystal Palace - Saturday 5th November 2016 - Turf Moor - Burnley

World Copyright © 2016 CameraSport. All rights reserved. 43 Linden Ave. Countesthorpe. Leicester. England. LE8 5PG - Tel: +44 (0) 116 277 4147 - admin@camerasport.com - www.camerasport.com
Burnley's Tom Heaton in action during todays match Photographer Alex Dodd/CameraSport The Premier League - Burnley v Crystal Palace - Saturday 5th November 2016 - Turf Moor - Burnley World Copyright © 2016 CameraSport. All rights reserved. 43 Linden Ave. Countesthorpe. Leicester. England. LE8 5PG - Tel: +44 (0) 116 277 4147 - [email protected] - www.camerasport.com

Michael Keane continues to be linked with a move, with a year remaining on his Turf Moor contract, while striker Andre Gray has also been the subject of speculation this summer.

But even if the club lose key personnel, the England keeper feels the team’s identity will remain intact – as it essentially did two years ago, when the departures of Danny Ings, Kieran Trippier and skipper Jason Shackell didn’t prevent the Clarets bouncing back to the Premier League as Championship winners.

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Heaton said: “I think the way we work here, our biggest strength is the team ethic, that unity.

“We have good individuals, but we’ve had players injured and suspended, and other players have come in and done fantastically well.

“We really are a team.

“When players do well, they will be talked about getting moves here, there and everywhere, but that’s part and parcel of it.

“Whatever happens, we’ll deal with it and keep moving forward.”

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Heaton admits it is no secret the Clarets are more than the sum of their parts, having built on promotion by retaining their Premier League status without too much looking over their shoulders at the relegation scrap.

Heaton, who picked up his third England cap last Tuesday, said: “Inside the four walls here, we have a belief of what we can achieve.

“In my first season here we were fourth favourites to be relegated and got promoted, which was probably even more of an achievement.

“We have a belief in who we are and what we do, and it’s been proved to work.

“When we get it right, we can be a force to be reckoned with.”