BEN Mee has hailed the work-rate of George Boyd, which he admits makes his life a little easier when the two are lining up on the same flank.

Mee returned to the Clarets starting line-up last weekend after Stephen Ward suffered a fractured ankle in the 1-1 draw with Newcastle, and he had the extra protection of Boyd, with the former Hull City winger moved back on the left of midfield, having featured on the right recently.

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Boyd has run the furthest in one game of any Premier League player this season, when he covered 8.29 miles in the 2-1 win at Stoke City.

“Boydy works really hard, you see that with the stats after every game, and when a winger does that, it makes your job a bit easier,” said the 25-year-old Mee.

“It’s nice to have a winger willing to go up and down.”

Mee started the Clarets first eight Premier League games of the season, but lost his place to Republic of Ireland international Ward after the 3-1 Turf Moor defeat to West Ham.

He is happy to be back in the side, but admits the circumstances surrounding his return could have been a lot better.

“It’s not nice when someone injures themselves, but it was nice to be back in the team,” he said.

“I really wanted to win at QPR and show the gaffer what I can do, but we’ll go into the next game and hopefully pick up a win at home.

“We’ve had belief from the word go. We started to get results, and this is a blip, and hopefully we can get back to winning ways and show people what we can do.

“Personally I was disappointed to come out of the side, but I think the lads are growing and believing in themselves, and we’re enjoying it.”