VINCENT: PLAYERS MUST BE PRICELESS

VINCENT KOMPANY has warned his promotion winning players they must prove they are better than anyone Burnley can afford. The Clarets boss must bring his side up to Premier League standard after earning promotion back to the top tier. The plan is to continue improving those he already has at his disposal, but he was clear in his message that those who do not meet his standards could find Premier League action hard to come by.

“For me, it is my job to improve the team, whether that’s developing them or bringing new players in, it’s my job to develop the team,” said the Clarets boss.

“It’s something that I consider as my duty.

“The players never compete just with their own team-mate, they always compete with everyone in the world who is available to Burnley Football Club. In your position, you have to be better than every player we can afford.”

Jordan Beyer (left), one of the stars of the promotion campaign, has already been signed on a permanent deal after his impressive loan from Borussia Monchengladbach.

And Kompany will only look to sign players who meet his standards of a high work-rate on and off the pitch.

But he insists it doesn’t narrow the pool of players available to a club which won’t have the same resources as some of their rivals.

He added: “What you can’t accept is if a player doesn’t work hard.

“If a player puts the individual ahead of the collective. If at any stage you drop your work-rate and become selfish then you’re not for us.

“There are 400 million people who play football in the world. There is talent on every corner of every street of any major city.”