Clarets boss will not ‘overthink’ the end

VINCENT Kompany insists he will not “overthink” the end of the season as Burnley continue their fight for Premier League safety with the visit of Newcastle today.

Burnley’s recent upturn in form has propelled them to within two points of safety, with their latest impressive performance earning a 1-1 draw against Manchester United at Old Trafford last weekend.

The 19th-placed Clarets have struggled on their own patch for much of the campaign but, since their 2-0 defeat to Bournemouth at the start of March, they have gone unbeaten in their last three at Turf Moor. Newcastle have scored nine goals in their last three games but Burnley boss Kompany (above) says there is no reason to change things with three matches to go.

He told a press conference: “You have to respect their attacking capabilities but at the same time it’s Saturday at Turf Moor.

“It’s a different day, different opponent, anything can happen, that’s the mindset and we’ve played good players all season so why start to overthink it now? If they are better than us well done, if not we need to make sure we are the best we can be.

“It’s not been a case of at home we haven’t had a chance. We have been close so many times but it’s clear we have to be close again and then we have to be more than that and take points.”

Eddie Howe will return to Turf Moor, where he was manager between January 2011 and October 2012, today – and Kompany was full of praise for the Newcastle head coach.

He added: “He’s been in this position for many years. Everything he achieved with Bournemouth in itself will already command the respect of his peers, that’s for sure.

“The way they play, it’s representative of what you would associate with Newcastle, so a good coach, really talented even when he was at Bournemouth and has been shown even more with a better team.”