BURNLEY (Reuters) – Burnley manager Vincent Kompany believes the challenge for promoted clubs to survive in the Premier League has increased since he left Manchester City four years ago.
Kompany steered Burnley to promotion from the Championship last season but they have found it hard going with a solitary win and eight defeats from their first 10 matches.
“Since I left the league as a player four years ago, I think the bar has been raised,” Kompany said on Friday ahead of their home clash with Crystal Palace.
Burnley are 19th in the standings with four points and while there is no sense of panic, Kompany knows that they need to start collecting points to stay in touch with the sides immediately above the drop zone.
“The teams we would be competing with at the moment, If we’re serious about staying up, would be Nottingham Forest and maybe Bournemouth because they are the teams next up from us in the league,” Kompany said.
“If you look at the investment that the teams at the bottom are putting in, that wouldn’t have been the case when I was playing in the league.
“It’s great for the level of the league but it means your first year in the Premier League is probably tougher.”
Staying up would be a huge achievement for Kompany and he believes that promoted clubs that manage to avoid an immediate return can begin to consolidate, as the likes of Brentford and Fulham have shown.
“It won’t be easy but if you get over that hurdle you can put distance between yourselves and the teams coming up,” said Kompany, who won four Premier League titles at City.
“Staying up is not just a way of saying ‘this is what you will be doing for 10 years’, but it’s about growing. This year is by far the hardest.”
Key to Burnley’s hopes will be addressing their poor home form. They have lost all five home league games and if that trend continues relegation would be a certainty.
“Every game you have to have a frame of mind where you believe you are going to produce a performance to get a result,” added Kompany, whose side were beaten 3-0 by Everton in the League Cup on Wednesday.
Aged 37, Kompany is the youngest manager in the Premier League while Palace boss Roy Hodgson, 76, is the oldest.
“I looked at (Roy’s) history and he’s managed in so many countries and leagues. He is very experienced and I can see why he is still doing it,” Kompany said.
“He will have never dropped his standards over the years and it’s credit to him.”
Burnley will be without suspended midfielder Josh Cullen for the visit of Palace on Saturday while striker but Lyle Foster is still not ready to return from injury. Defender Jordan Beyer could be available though.
(Reporting by Martyn Herman; Editing by Christian Radnedge)
