Owen Coyle believes Tyrone Mears can be Burnley's next England international.

The club unveiled an international honours board at Turf Moor which lists the names of all 60 players to have won a cap for their country whilst on the books at Burnley.

Although seven of the current squad are on the list the Clarets have not had one of their players turn out for England since Martin Dobson in 1974.

But Coyle believes Mears' performances at the back for Burnley this season mean he could soon be added to the illustrious canon.

"England were struggling for a right-back and, for me, Tyrone Mears is playing as well as anybody in the Premier League," Coyle said.

"It's up to us to find young English players and nurture them, which is what we have tried to do and hopefully one day we will see someone else up there, a Burnley player with an England cap.

"I think it's fair to say that (Glen) Johnson is a top player and you would think he would be the number one choice for that position.

"But for me, Tyrone Mears has acquitted himself as well as anybody in that position in the Premier League this season and it's up to Tyrone to keep delivering those performances.

"If he does, as I have said to all my players, then people will look at them and look at them in a positive light. They will see how well they are doing and ultimately that is what they will be judged on."

Mears is currently waiting to hear from FIFA about whether he is allowed to play for England, having appeared for Jamaica under John Barnes in a friendly international earlier this year after being told his family had roots in the country.

The defender - who was born to a British mother in Stockport - subsequently discovered that he has no Jamaican heritage and is now hoping the appearance will not ruin his England dreams, but whatever the ruling, Coyle feels Mears is rapidly developing into a player of the highest calibre.

"I know that whoever asks him to play for them, he will never ever let them down," Coyle said.

"I think he is getting better by the week, evolving now he has been given a good run-out in the Premier League.

"It is up to him to keep maintaining the standard he has set and within that, look to push on to another level."

The manager and some of Burnley's current internationals were on hand today to meet the legends of the club's past as Dobson officially unveiled the honours board inside the main entrance at Turf Moor.

"When I came on board I tried to embrace the history and the tradition of this fantastic club and that involves a lot of our past players, who were top class players," said Coyle.

"That has been shown through the history of the football club and I think it's nice that has been recognised with the international board.

"Fans and everybody at the club are well aware of the names but I think it's nice to see it up there and it pays tremendous honour to the work they have done at Burnley Football Club.

"It shows we are family-orientated and that while we remember our present players, we certainly won't forget those from our past."