Vincent Kompany unfazed by squad rebuilding job at Burnley
Burnley have lost a raft players since their relegation from the Premier League.
Vincent Kompany accepts he faces a squad rebuilding job at Burnley but is not fazed by the task ahead of him.
The financially-troubled Clarets, who confirmed Kompany as their new manager last week, have lost a raft players since their relegation from the Premier League at the end of last season.
Ben Mee, James Tarkowski and Nick Pope are among those to have left while there is also uncertainty over others including Nathan Collins, Maxwel Cornet and Wout Weghorst.
“It goes with the potential drop in revenues when you fall out of the Premier League,” said former Manchester City defender Kompany at a press conference.
“You always have to expect some of your valuable players to move on but it is (still) a team with some experienced players and a depth of quality, certainly for the Championship.
“It’s also a few players that earned the right to move on and we wish them well.
There is further uncertainty at Burnley as a significant portion of a £65million loan taken out by owners ALK Capital when they bought the club is due to be repaid.
That situation has also not deterred 36-year-old Kompany, who left his job at Anderlecht to succeed Sean Dyche at Turf Moor.
He said: “It is just how open the chairman, ownership and other people were that convinced me to come to the club.
“If we are to turn a financial corner, it is important to have balance in the squad – a mix of players who grow in value and players that hold that culture together that has made Burnley special over the years.”
One of Kompany’s first tasks will be to lift the club after the dismal conclusion to last season.
He said: “That is the hardest part, how quickly you can turn it around, especially when you have got new players and new ideas coming in and still a little bit of uncertainty.
“It is like this when a club gets relegated, it is normal, but in terms of what I’ve seen the team do on the training pitch, and the togetherness they have shown, that is one thing we will take into the new season which will help us.”
One rumour Kompany was quick to shoot down was that he and new Blackburn boss Jon Dahl Tomasson had been trying to acquire the same apartment.
The story had been portrayed as an early clash of the rival east Lancashire clubs, who will be back in the same division next season.
Kompany said: “That’s the first very false rumour that’s come out. I never had to look for an apartment because I’ve lived in the north west before and I’ve held on to a few things. Knock that one down, it was wrong. Bad source!”
