VINTAGE CLARETS
Kompany inspired by Pep talk over glass of red
VINCENT KOMPANY hopes Pep Guardiola’s magic red wine can work wonders for Burnley.
The Burnley boss enjoyed a glass of one of Guardiola’s finest reds after his side’s defeat at Manchester City on Wednesday.
Kompany sees chats with his old City boss as an invaluable learning experience and hopes he can take something into today’s home clash with Fulham.
The Clarets are seven points below the safety line and Fulham are one of only three sides they have beaten in the Premier League this season.
“We always share experiences,” said the
Burnley boss. “We enjoyed some magic, red wine. The magic that gives all the solutions! Never underestimate, even with how much he’s achieved, his willingness to exchange and have the conversation in almost learning both ways.
“From my side, we don’t have to play them any more this season and it was an opportunity to share a little bit. It’s not so much reminiscing, just people in the job sharing a moment to have a chat.”
Kompany spent the transfer window reshaping his squad for their relegation fight.
Striker David Datro Fofana, centre-half Maxime Esteve (below, left) and right-back Lorenz Assignon (below, right) arrived on loan as Connor Roberts and Anass Zaroury left and Kompany claims he has retained the squad’s ethos, claiming he would not spend money Burnley did not have to boost their survival chances.
“The most important thing to remember is that it’s not necessarily about buying and selling, it’s about making sure that we’re getting profiles in that, if we need to sell, they have value,” he explained.
“When you have a certain profile of player, if they don’t work out for you, it’s a high wage and you can’t shift them.
“Those profiles have killed a lot of clubs in the past, there’s a list of clubs who have suffered from that. It’s about finding the balance.
“There’s always a middle ground. We don’t have sovereign wealth to support the club, we don’t have some magic credit card. It’s important to have the possibilities of extra revenue streams where needed. We can’t generate it any other way than, at times, player sales.”