KOMPANY TAKING IT GAME BY GAME AHEAD OF LATICS TRIP

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Clarets boss says consistency is key ahead of trip to Wigan

2022-08-26T13:32:15.679Z

KOMPANY TAKING IT GAME BY GAME AHEAD OF LATICS TRIP

Clarets boss says consistency is key ahead of trip to Wigan

2022-08-26T13:32:15.679Z

Burnley boss believes Swansea will prove a different challenge but is looking forward to being back on home turf

Vincent Kompany is looking forward to this weekend’s game at Wigan Athletic, and wants his side to take another step in the right direction towards consistency in their performance.

The Clarets chief addressed the media at the Burnley Training Centre on Thursday afternoon, discussing the importance of a strong performance, players returning from injury, and the last week of the transfer window.

Kompany on steady progression:

“Even after Wigan, there’s still 40+ games left. I’ve learned one thing [throughout my career] and that’s consistency. You can’t get hung up on results too much, you’ve just got to work towards getting on a run and maintaining that.

“The sooner we win, the closer we come to hopefully putting a run together, and I do think we’ve already deserved to win more than we have done. I really believe this team still has so much progression within it, and it’ll take consistency for us to get there.”

Kompany on the midweek Carabao Cup win at Shrewsbury:

“It was good. You look at the draw too and all I notice is that Premier League teams are facing each other.

“We get a good game and one we can look forward to, but that’s in November and for now we’ll just be focusing on the next game.

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“I wouldn’t be surprised to see some of the players [who came in] to play in the Carabao Cup also playing in the league this season.”

Kompany on possession-based football:

“We’ve scored goals [that have started] from the goalkeeper, it’s just less theatrical. The net balance has to be positive, and as long as it is, the main thing for me is creating some very big chances. We have done that consistently, and we’re just not putting enough of them away yet. I’m not looking at it in any other way than whether it makes sense or not.

“If it gives us a chance, we’ve got to do it. You can’t say ‘only build up when we know we’re going to score’, because it just doesn’t work that way. A lot of decisions and reactions have to come into play, but you do it because you think you can score. You don’t turn it on and off when you want to, and you’ve got to recognise the picture [on the pitch].”

Kompany on players returning from injury:

“With players who are returning from long-term injuries, you try to stay on schedule and that’s what we did [with Johann Berg Gudmundsson on Tuesday].

“A fit player is a happy player, and when you get him his first minutes back, it’s just key for us to get him – and other players who have been in that situation – on the grass as much as they can.

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“Every time they’re out there with the team, it’s a good sign towards us getting them back in the longer term. The easiest way for us to have affordable transfers is to recover those players who haven’t played much in recent seasons.

“Ash [Westwood], Longy [Kevin Long], Twiney [Scott Twine] are the same. If we keep players fit, that can be some of the best business we do this summer.”

Kompany on the remainder of the transfer window:

“Our numbers are healthier now, especially with the return of guys like Johann, but it’s professional football and until the transfer window is finished, you don’t settle. You have to see if you can improve the team.

“We’ve spoken about Burnley being a healthy Club and people know here what it feels like to support one of those. The business we do has to be something that we can take care of in the long term.

“I believe there’s a lot of progress in this team and if you told me that this is the team now I will have for the rest of the season, I wouldn’t bat an eyelid because I know they can get a lot better. It’s my duty, and my job, to make this team as competitive as possible within our means.”