Ben Mee: Burnley captain on 10 years at Turf Moor

The captain of the club on his own social media impact.

"Marcus Rashford, Ben Mee, and...

When he hears his name next to two of England's biggest stars, he laughs self-deprecatingly.

In an era of high-profile footballers campaigning for social change and racial equality, Mee's words and actions on many off-the-field issues mean he belongs in the conversation.

As he prepares to mark 10 years at the club, he talks to the TV channel about how football has changed, how captain's meetings have changed, and the fight to beat the drop.

I didn't know the impact my voice would have.

The captain's rise to being one of the leading role models in the league began when his post-match interview went viral.

A banner against the taking of the knee was flown over the match between the two teams.

The 32-year-old was ashamed and embarrassed and said that the people involved had missed the whole point of what they were trying to achieve. This led to praise from people in and out of football.

Since then, the centre-back has spoken publicly about the premature birth of his daughter, homelessness, and launched a Twitter account to "use his voice to help others by sharing some personal experiences".

Our daughter was 16 weeks early.

"My main focus is football, but I want to use my voice to help others speak about issues and to raise awareness for things that are going on in everyday life and outside of football."

I've been through a lot with my family. I have a lot of perspective on life. I think this is one of the reasons why I've decided to go on social media.

I think I got that sense when I spoke out, that young kids look up to us.

"I didn't realize the impact it could have, all of a sudden you realize it and hopefully we can do it more and more."

Social media and meetings.

The role of a captain in the premier league has evolved to include discussions with all the club captains on everything from taking the knee to covid protocols and the decision to continue playing football during the Covid-19 pandemic.

There have been a lot of phone calls and messages back and forward. I've learned a lot about all areas on and off the pitch.

You have to support the guys and try to put your point across, but also be vocal in those meetings, because a lot of the top teams are quite vocal in those meetings.

"You listen, you try and take things on board, and I think we're all on the same page."

Initially reluctant for fear of making a slip-up on social media, Mee joined the social media platform in November of 2021.

He says he was always focused on his football. I didn't want to put things on social media that weren't really relevant.

I'm not that kind of character and I won't put a picture on me or a video of me dancing.

"I want to put things out there on social media that are real that are more about me and my personality, so I've waited a little bit of time to do that."

The 20 captains of the premier league have come together to make some high profile decisions during the Pandemic, including setting up the #Players Together to donate money to the health service.

Advice to young players was given by a decade at Burnley.

The impact social media can have on a young player's progression has been seen by Ben Mee, who is celebrating 10 years as a permanent player at Burnley on 17 January.

"All of a sudden your eye gets taken and your concentration gets a little bit off and that chance that you might have had has passed" he says.

There's been a lot of culture change within the last 10 years. There is a lot of expectation on young players.

The Premier League is such a big place to be that there is a lot of outside noise.

It takes a strong character for a young boy to block out all that and focus on football, and maybe that wasn't as much of an issue when I was younger.

Sean Dyche's Clarets are in the bottom half of the table in the premier league.

One of their main sources of goals, Chris Wood, has joined another team in the Championship, while forward Maxwell Cornet is away at the Africa Cup of Nations.

"It's been difficult for our group," says Mee. We're not picking up the points because we feel like we've not been performing badly.

We feel like we were in touch. One of the reasons why people don't expect us to get demoted is that we have a strong jaw and good character.

We know we need to get ourselves out of this situation and it's going to be difficult.