Burnley-born goalkeeper Rachel Brown heads to Finland with the England Ladies for the UEFA Womens’ Championships, and has every intention of going all the way.

The 29-year-old stopper hopes tournament success in Finland can cap a superb month, one which saw her club Everton progress to the knock-out stage of the Women’s Champions League.

“It’s really exciting,” she said, speaking about Everton’s progress into the mini knock-outs in Europe.

“The games are being played on September 30 and October 7, so with the European Championships coming soon the games are coming thick and fast.

“We’ve got a stage further than before. It was good experience and good match practice before we started training for the Euros,” she added.

The national team underwent an intense training programme in London last week, before they head off to Finland for the championships later this month.

“We’ve had a team meeting, and gone through an overview of the next few weeks. For now we’re just concentrating on the group stages, doing our homework on Italy, Russia and Sweden, and gaining the framework for what we plan to do.

“We’ve gone through team-building, sharpness, touch and finishing, and also made sure the keepers are as sharp as possible. We’re as fit as we’ve ever been, so now it’s a case of fine tuning everything else.”

Brown made her debut against Germany in February 1997, and 12 years on, she is looking to be part of the first England Ladies team to triumph in the Women’s European Championships.

“We’ve learned our lesson from doing things the hard way.” said Brown. “I think our main strength is our ability to bounce back, which we showed in the qualifiers.

Brown has racked up 50 England caps, and is one of 17 female players to be given central contracts by the FA. Despite being confident, she realises the opposition they face are likely to give nothing away.

“Sweden are the favourites to go through, they’re in excellent form. Germany are always strong and hold the World Cup too, but everyone’s confident of doing it,” she said.

The Everton stopper spent three years playing in the USA, before which she held a season ticket at Turf Moor for two years. She is understandably thrilled at the prospect of top flight football coming to her hometown.

“It’s so exciting, watching people on Sky Sports News queueing outside the ground for tickets in the pouring rain. That’s the Burnley I remember!” she laughed. “It’s not just great for the football, but for the town too.”

During her time at the Pittsburgh Panthers, Brown was voted goalkeeper of the Year in the Eastern Conference every year, while she also holding the Panthers record for least goals conceded in a season.

Like everyone in the women’s game, Brown hopes the more successful England are, the more people will take note of ladies’ football.

“The media have a huge influence,” she said. “Football isn’t a minority sport, but womens’ football is so it’s great at a time like this when people take note that it exists.

“It breeds interest, and our improved world ranking is helping move us in the right direction.”

England face Italy next Tuesday (August 25) Russia on Friday, August 28, before a match with Sweden rounds off the group stage on Monday August 31.