Burnley boss Vincent Kompany happy to "throw possession stats down the river" in search for wins

The Clarets boss would rather see his players put in the hard yards than dominate the ball, as he looks to add to Burnley’s solitary league win at Wigan on Saturday.

Boasting the highest average possession in the Championship after five games, with 70.6%, usurping the likes of Swansea City and Norwich City, Kompany has imprinted his principles on his players in the space of 10 weeks or so after his official appointment.

He is well aware that the scoreline remains the most important statistic, but a prerequisite for Kompany is his players continue to run hard in games.

It is another area where Burnley have had the upper hand, without yet turning it into three points on a regular basis, but Kompany feels that will come.

Ahead of the trip to the DW Stadium, he said: "There's one side of it we can't forget, is this team works hard.

"I'd be happy to throw the possession stats down the river here, I couldn't care less, it's just 'don't give the ball away when you don't have to’.

"To me, that's commonsense – I can't teach players to give the ball away, it's not in my nature.

"But I want them to score goals and be creative.

"You'll have days when it works and days it doesn't, like any type of football, but the biggest thing is how hard they work.

"That's the one thing I want to put forward, I don't think anyone realises how much they outrun the opposition by every game, and I mean every game.

"That's such a good thing for us. There are no easy games for us, but there's no easy games for the opposition, and there won't be if they run like they do and the rest will come with playing together longer.”

Kompany added: "The most important statistic is results, and with that, enough is being said.

"But I've been lucky to be a part of a few teams that have had a few good results over the years, and results don't just happen if you shout 'we've got to win!'

"There's a lot of work, sometimes time, a bit of luck, and consistency, but if you have the running, then you've got a guarantee you don't allow easy games for the opposition.

"And as long as you're in the games, then when you start finding each other better, you'll get something.

"You come to Burnley, and if you don't get the running, I wouldn't be proud of the team, whether you have 10% possession or 60/70/80%, I don't care.

"If my team's not running hard, it wouldn't be for me.”