Tom Heaton earned plaudits from Manchester United great Peter Schmeichel following his ‘save of the season’ contender to deny Zlatan Ibrahimovic at Old Trafford.

The England international threw himself at the four-time Ballon d’or nominee’s volley, injuring himself in the process, to earn the Clarets their first Premier League point on the road this season.

And in a recent poll, run by Sky Sports, the 31-year-old’s phenomenal reflexes which thwarted the Swedish striker was voted top of the stops by fans, edging out Simon Mignolet’s efforts to deny Saido Berahino in Liverpool’s game against Stoke City at the Britannia Stadium.

However Heaton, who began his professional career with the Red Devils, doesn’t rank that particular block at the head of his own chart.

“I was obviously pleased with it but I reiterate all the time that the lads were in the trenches that day,” he said. “I know that save got highlighted but in fairness there were multiple blocks and it was a backs to the wall team performance. Those are my memories of the game.

“It’s probably not (my favourite) if I’m honest. It’s probably the save from Charlie Austin. I actually quite liked the Rondon save at West Brom as well but it’s difficult to choose that one when you’re 3-0 down at half-time.

“It’s probably the Austin one, it’s certainly up there. Don’t get me wrong, the United one is potentially a big one as well.”

Heaton also kept a clean sheet when United last came to Turf Moor two seasons ago when Angel Di Maria made his debut for the visitors.

And the skipper is hoping to repeat that feet as the club look to take further strides towards solidifying their status in the top flight.

Ahead of Sunday’s fixture, he said: “It’s another good game at Turf Moor, we’ve made it a really tough place to go, and hopefully we can do that again.

“When United come to town it’s always a big game but we’ll focus on ourselves as ever and put preparations in place.”

With United on a 22-game unbeaten run in the league, dating back to the goal-less draw against the Clarets, Heaton added: “I left United a while ago now so there have been quite a few games but it’s always still a special one and I’m really looking forward to it.

“They are moving things forward, they’re quietly going about their business and they’ve secured some excellent results. I think they’re just building for future.”