Kompany: There was a queue of clubs after O’hare in summer
VINCENT Kompany claims there was a “queue” of clubs lining up to sign Coventry City’s Callum O’hare in the summer transfer window.
The Burnley boss made no secret of his admiration for the Sky Blues forward back in July when the Clarets are understood to have made a number of bids for the 24-year-old.
Negotiations finally broke down before O’hare suffered a hamstring tear on the eve of the new campaign, putting an end to the on-going speculation about his future.
Asked if he was relieved that the player was unavailable to face his team at the CBS Arena on Saturday, the Manchester City legend said: “Yes, I mean there were a queue of clubs interested in Callum O’hare and that’s what happens with good players.”
And he wasn’t the only one of that Coventry team who did really well last season, and I think that now it’s completely normal that without these players, and if you add Ian Maatsen, who was wearing our colours today, there’s a few players missing there so it takes a little bit of time for the next ones to step up.
“But only coaches usually understand that.”
Asked by the Coventry Telegraph how close he was to signing O’hare in the summer, Kompany said: “Oooh, honestly I don’t know. It’s purely a financial discussion and at the end of the day he’s a Coventry player now so he has to get back fit and perform for his coach and his club now.
“There’s nothing else that matters for him, or for us. But it was handled between the chairmen, I think. We did 16 transfers (in the summer) and usually I just got a call in the morning to say, ‘yes, he’s coming,’ or ‘it ain’t gonna happen’ – that’s kind of how I handled it.”
Meanwhile, Kompany has plenty of sympathy for Coventry City’s difficult start to the new Championship campaign that has contributed to them being bottom of the league.
The Burnley boss watched his fourth placed side edge out the Sky Blues 1-0 at the CBS Arena in what was a game of fine margins despite the Clarets enjoying 60 percent of the possession on the day.
Although Mark Robins’ men failed to hit a single shot on target during the 90 minutes, Jonathan Panzo rattled the underside of the crossbar as City went agonisingly close to an equaliser before the break in a game in which the home side defended pretty well overall against the former Premier League outfit.
Asked for his assessment of Coventry and whether they look like a side struggling at the bottom of the division, the Manchester City legend said:
“No, look, the one thing I would say is I wouldn’t have liked to have gone through the schedule they have gone through with games cancelled.
“I know they have lost a lot of players as well at the moment and if you don’t have Gustavo Hamer and Callum O’hare it’s difficult to play without these guys, especially if you’re a team, just like everyone else, who is trying to get near the that top six.
“So I am not one to pass any sort of judgement. I think we did what we needed to do and they have had a tough schedule and lost big players. It’s really not an easy job.”
Kompany, whose side took the lead in the 39th minute from a smart finish from Nathan Tella, admitted that City were tough to break down, adding: “I would have preferred to put the game behind us a bit earlier, because when you’re on top of a game it’s important to be able to finish it off.
“We weren’t capable of doing it today but, with what happened in the week, it was the ideal script, to have to battle it out for the last 5/10 minutes. What I liked as well, it was still a hard running team, it’s not like we were just shifting, we were pressurising, but just protecting our goal a bit more.
“It was the ideal script and that is what the Championship does for you. You don’t get any time to dwell, you’ve got to learn from the pain, put it behind you and move on. We did that very well.”