BELLAMY WILL KEEP VINCENT COMPANY

DAVID ANDERSON

BY

NEW Burnley boss Vincent Kompany has confirmed his old Manchester City teammate and ex-Blackburn striker, Craig Bellamy, will be part of the Clarets coaching staff.

Kompany played with Bellamy, 42, at City and the Welshman was his Under-21 coach and then assistant at Anderlecht, before he quit last September, citing mental health issues.

The Clarets boss hopes to confirm his backroom in the next few days and said of Bellamy (below): “He’s one of the rumours that is actually correct. He’s someone I have huge respect for.

“He’s incredibly gifted and he’s a typically misunderstood guy who gives so much. “If I can have him with me, I will. Just give me three or four days to make sure.” Bellamy – who also played for Liverpool and Newcastle – left his first coaching job as academy boss at Cardiff when he was accused of bullying. He fell into depression due to the allegations.

Kompany, 36, is Burnley’s first black coach and insisted the image of the club created by the ‘White Lives Matter’ protest by some fans in 2020 is wrong. “You cannot judge an entire organisation and the people and the players because a couple of idiots are flying a banner,” he added.

“There’s no way I would associate the football club with this.”