'I don’t make instinctive decisions': Vincent Kompany rubbishes idea he's 'too big' to manage Burnley

Vincent Kompany has rubbished the idea that he was “too big” to become Burnley manager.
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The 37-year-old led the Clarets back to the Premier League at the first attempt last season having made the move from Anderlecht.

Not only did Kompany’s side claim the Championship title, they took the division by storm by amassing 101 points and losing just three times.

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Given what he achieved as a player, there might have been some surprise that Kompany opted to take a job with Burnley in the Championship.

But the Belgian, speaking to Gary Neville on The Overlap, in partnership with Sky Bet, revealed he did plenty of homework before accepting the Turf Moor job.

“You’re never too big for anything in life and I will always have the best information at my disposal to decide for myself,” he said.

“When I signed for Manchester City my dad was saying ‘what are you doing?’ because Hamburg was a Champions League club at the time, but I felt that the Premier league was better for me. I analysed Burnley a lot before I came.

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Kompany led the Clarets to the Championship league title last seasonKompany led the Clarets to the Championship league title last season
Kompany led the Clarets to the Championship league title last season

“I don’t make instinctive decisions – I analyse a lot. I analysed Burnley before I came here. When I can’t convince myself that it’s not a good decision, then I make the decision and I have no regrets.”

While Kompany’s tenure in East Lancashire has got off to a great start, the Burnley boss believes there’s still a lot more to come from his side.

“When it comes to what I’m most proud of, it’s the group dynamics,” he added.

“We got smashed in every pre-season game we played. But the way I kind of wanted to take them on that journey, was as a journey of progression.

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“This is where we are today – and if I tell you today that everybody can get better if you work hard, do you agree with my statement or not?’ Everybody agrees.

“Okay, that consistency now I’m going to push you on doing that. Because we might lose a lot of games now, but if we progress, we’ll win a lot of games at the end.

“And all I do is hold them to those standards. And you’ve had a bad game – get on with it. In three days' time, we’ll get another chance.”