KOMPANY LOOKS AHEAD TO LANCASHIRE DERBY

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Clarets boss previews Tuesday's trip to Ewood Park

2023-04-24T14:30:42.258Z

KOMPANY LOOKS AHEAD TO LANCASHIRE DERBY

Clarets boss previews Tuesday's trip to Ewood Park

2023-04-24T14:30:42.258Z

Clarets boss previews Tuesday's trip to Ewood Park

Manager Vincent Kompany says his players must 'play the game and not the occasion' when the Clarets head to Blackburn Rovers on Tuesday evening in the Sky Bet Championship.

Victory against Rovers at Ewood Park would see Burnley crowned league champions, however Kompany insists that preparation leading up to the game stays the same but admits he knows the importance of the East Lancashire derby.

Speaking to the media on Monday, the Clarets chief highlighted the messaging for his side ahead of the clash and described the 'different edge' games like this bring.

Kompany said: "They sit on different paths these sort of games, derby matches sit differently, it's like their own leagues and trophies. It's high stakes, high reward and I know what it means and I embrace the hype and drama of these games.

"You can do all the preparation and training as you always do, but derbies have a different edge to them. I can tell the players to prepare well and do everything as normal, that doesn’t change, we have to be at our best level and we demand that every single game.

"I would be disappointed if our team would just wait for a derby match to turn up in, you have to turn up every game and our messaging and preparation for Tuesday is no different to any other match.

"We have to play the game and not the occasion. We can't start trying to chase the title, we need to chase the game and the the only thing we need to maintain."

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The Burnley boss added: "I think it’s one of the beautiful things in the game, but for us as the professionals who have to do the work, it’s so important to distance ourselves from it and to stay calm and that passion and extra little bit of something always comes out at the right time. We must stay focussed."

On Sunday evening, Kompany was awarded the Sky Bet Championship Manager of the Season award for the 2022/23 campaign at the EFL Awards ceremony.

Josh Brownhill, Nathan Tella, Connor Roberts and Ian Maatsen were also named in the Sky Bet Championship Team of the Year and Kompany applauded the quartet for winning their awards and dedicated his own recognition to the staff and players.

“I think as a player you’ve always got this thing where you can picture the reason why you’re getting an award. You’ve done something amazing during a season or you’ve had consistency and then it’s a choice and it can be you or someone else.

“But when you’re the manager you really rely on your players, the staff around you, so in my case I’m dedicating this more towards the people I’ve been working with and that’s all and hopefully the big reward for all of us is to win the Championship, that’s the goal now.

"All the team has done amazing this season and the lads have done well that have been chosen for this award. They have all bought into what we have tried to do this season and have all played key parts across the season."