KOMPANY REFLECTS ON FIRST WEEK

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Clarets boss review first week in charge

2022-06-27T11:25:39.514Z

KOMPANY REFLECTS ON FIRST WEEK

Clarets boss review first week in charge

2022-06-27T11:25:39.514Z

Clarets boss review first week in charge

Manager Vincent Kompany discusses his first week as the Clarets manager, the importance of unity, and how impressed he’s been so far.

Kompany on the first seven days:

“It’s been lovely. The weather’s been perfect, and the players have responded to everything we’ve thrown at them, I’m enjoying it.

“I’m enjoying being here with the staff and with this group of players, it’s been a great experience so far.”

Kompany on putting in the hard work:

“It’s pre-season so it’s always going to be the hardest part of the season. We’re preparing for a tough season, a long season, so we’re putting in the work now.

“I think it’s a little bit more than just hard work on the pitch as well. There’s more meetings and more emphasis on the tactical side of things because you’re trying to adapt a few principles.

“You always build from the top, and ideally, I want the team to play in such a way. I want the team to get results by doing this and that, but at the minute you kind of de-construct everything.

“You turn it into training sessions and meetings, creating a pathway to get to your objectives. The lads have responded well to it. There’s so much you can bring, but if you don’t’ have a team which is focused and driven, then it won’t amount to much.

“This team has that in abundance, it’s not so difficult for me.”

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Kompany on being one unit:

“The group dynamic is one of the most important things for me. I think it’s one of the best things this club has done over the years, you have always seen that it’s a real team.

“It’s something we have to hold onto, it’s so valuable. The best starting point is to have a team with a real togetherness. I’d choose that over talent every day of the week.

“At the top of football, you can have the very best players and have them execute the most complex things. Then there’s the rest of football, where I think that unity takes you further.

“We can play in a certain way and have certain ideas, but they only make you look bad if the team is not a real unit and if it’s not able to work with each other. Nothing happens without togetherness.”

Kompany on retaining older heads in the group

“That allows us – if there are positions where we do need to recruit – to bring in players who are a little bit less experienced, but who maybe have a big growth in them with an exciting profile for the fans.

“You have to surround them with people who understand the club and with characters who do things for the right reasons.

“There are a lot of players who do that here, and we have to protect that as much as we can.”

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Kompany on recruitment:

“Recruitment is what makes or breaks a club, it’s as simple as that, especially in a period like us where it’s a moment of transition.

“We can’t stress enough how important it is for us to get players in who are fit, and who can grow in value in the future. That’s not because we want to trade necessarily, but because that’s how your club stays healthy and that’s how you grow.

“We do want to grow, it’s an important aspect of the game. I was amazed at the quality and the work rate of the staff behind the scenes here when I arrived like the scouting staff.

“They work tirelessly, and we’ve put in a lot of effort to bring players to the club who are going to have a future, not just now but beyond as well. That’s exciting, and a very important part. We try to do our recruitment very diligently.”

Kompany on his first impressions of Turf Moor and the training facilities:

“It’s incredible. I’ve been on the other side of ‘you’ve got to go to Burnley and it’s a difficult place to go to’ for so many years. You associate it with a darker picture just because it’s difficult.

“When you come here, it’s got everything of a high-performance environment. It’s got everything that you would need as a young player to come through and improve.

“You add this to the fact that we do have this traditional side with the fans and with the stadium, and it’s just what you need in football.

“It’s an aspect of being close to the community of your club, and, at the same time, having everything you need to perform because that’s what people command.