Burnley have made a promising start under Vincent Kompany after Premier League relegation

Given the magnitude of the turmoil at Turf Moor following relegation from the Premier League, you would have forgiven Burnley for a slow start to the season.

They hired a new manager at Vincent Kompany, whose preferred style of play was about as far removed from predecessor Sean Dyche as you can imagine.

Tight financial constraints led to the departure of household names such as Ben Mee, James Tarkowski, Nick Pope, Dwight McNeil and Maxwel Cornet, with Kompany not seeing much of the proceeds.

But the Clarets are off to a good start. They came in fourth in the Championship table at the international break, with an eight-game unbeaten run and losing just once in the entire season.

And the clear message from within the Burnley camp is that once ‘Dycheball’ is completely flushed from the system and Kompany’s more aesthetically pleasing approach is fully ingrained, there will be much more to come.

“You can sometimes forget what really happened with players coming in, players going out, a new manager and new manners,” said midfielder Josh Brownhill. Sports post.

“Normally it takes a while for you to get together and see the really good performance.

“It’s a big credit to us that we’ve only been beaten once and we’ve had some really important wins, some good performances and some really good goals.

“I feel like there’s a lot more to us, but for now it’s an honor for everyone involved how quickly we picked things up, listened and trusted the process.”

When Burnley went scoreless four times in August, it seemed that pre-season expectations of an immediate return to the top would have to be reconsidered.

But after Brownhill scored twice in a 5-1 thrashing of Wigan, they have taken further victories over Millwall and an in-form Bristol City to put them in a promising position.

Kompany, 36, is a well-known and respected figure in English football who won four Premier League titles with Manchester City.

While he has of course learned a lot from Pep Guardiola in his last three seasons at the Etihad Stadium – and there is a clear influence when it comes to wanting to dominate possession – the Belgian is developing his own philosophy.

“You can tell by the presence he brings when he walks into a room, you know who it is,” Brownhill said.

“Not only that, he’s a really good guy to talk to, we get on well with him and when you start to learn, you see how much detail he goes into and how smart he is as a manager.

“Everything he’s done has worked and you can see that even if we don’t win, it’s probably more up to us not to finish our chances than to be tactically outplayed.

“The time he was there at the end with Pep, he was interested in the way they played.

“But I’ve had a few conversations with him here and there’s a lot of things for him and… [Craig] Also Bellamy, their manners and their style.

“We see it working and it’s a lot of fun to play in.”

Jay Rodriguez, another player who was not part of the summer sales, has experienced first hand what it is like to take on the field against Kompany.

“I played against him a few times and it was always tough,” said the attacker. ‘I probably wouldn’t have gotten too close to him, I probably would have stayed away!

“He is clearly a legend for Manchester City and the career he has had has been incredible. It’s ridiculous to work with someone like him.

“The manager has his own style and we learn and try to do what he tells us to do. It works so far and we need to keep doing it.

Born Burnley, Rodriguez feels personally obligated to bring them back to the Premier League, where they spent six seasons under Dyche, finishing seventh in 2017-18.

“As a local boy you always want the club to do as well as it should. Burnley should be in the Premier League – that was huge for me, the city and the club,” he said.

“There was initially sadness and disappointment about the relegation – and we almost got out of that towards the end, but it wasn’t meant to be.

“Then there was the motivation to raze to the ground and bounce back. We used the sadness of that moment as motivation.’

Rodriguez has scored five goals in eight Championship appearances this season, while Brownhill has four goals and two assists in ten games.

Both now aim to put Burnley in an even stronger position by the time the World Cup break comes, starting with Saturday’s trip to Cardiff.

“It’s now full until the World Cup, it gets even crazier,” said Brownhill.

“I think it will be after the World Cup when you will see the best of us.”

Jay Rodriguez and Josh Brownhill spoke as they handed Whitehough Outdoor Center a check for £2000, courtesy of partner Vertu Motors’ Land Rover Nelson dealer.