Boss Vincent Kompany says Burnley "means everything" to him as he rebuffs Manchester City links

The Belgian coach faced questions about his past — and his future — ahead of his return to the Etihad this evening.

The Manchester City legend has been tipped by many to succeed Pep Guardiola in the future, with the Spaniard also championing the 36-year-old's rightful claim to the throne.

Kompany, however, is having none of it, and believes his former mentor should stay in charge of the defending Premier League champions for another decade.

The ex-Anderlecht manager knows his place and, regardless of his achievements this season, with the Clarets on the cusp of promotion, he appreciates that he's still got to earn his stripes as a coach.

"He has got to stop saying it… I am a Championship manager," joked Kompany.

"I think he should stay for another 10 years at Manchester City first and foremost. City are competing to win the Champions League, we are competing to win the Championship, so I don’t think those kind of conversations make sense.

"They need to have the best manager in the world. I want to be extremely respectful to the club I manage as well. This club means everything to me. I want this club to get better."

The Premier League Hall of Famer made just 45 of his 265 top flight appearances for City during Guardiola's reign, though the club secured five domestic titles during their three seasons together.

Kompany insists the former Spain, Barcelona and Bayern Munich's record as a head coach speaks for itself, with his collection including three La Liga titles, as many Bundesliga glories, four Premier League titles, multiple cup successes and a couple of triumphs in the Champions League.

The ex-centre back took bits and pieces from Guardiola's approach to incorporate into his own style, which has paid dividends in his first season at Turf Moor.

Speaking ahead of the FA Cup quarter-final at his old stomping ground, he said: "In the end he has proven with his record and the dominance in his achievements that he is one of the best managers there has ever been. I am no different to any player that has ever played for him.

"You draw on what has made him so good and take that into your further career as a coach, but you draw on things from others as well.

"Pep has an incredible understanding of space and the detail of arriving into those spaces and being efficient, but other managers like [Roberto] Mancini, incredible with the defence, and [Manuel] Pellegrini, was more free-flowing and attacking so I would have taken from those as well."