Andreas Hountondji reflects on his two years at Burnley

It would be something of an understatement to suggest Andreas Hountondji’s Burnley career has yet to really get going.

A July 2024 signing from Caen, the forward has made just 19 appearances for the Clarets in over two years.

Six months into his stay at Turf Moor, the 24-year-old was sent out on loan to Belgium where he linked up with Standard Liege. The following campaign, meanwhile, he was sent to Germany, where he scored against Vincent Kompany’s Bayern Munich for St Pauli.

Not many expected the Benin international to be back in the Burnley reckoning this season, but he’s already made nine appearances this term alone and has started back-to-back games under new boss Fabio Celestini.

Only a few weeks ago, meanwhile, he found the back of the net for the first time in Burnley colours during that disastrous 4-1 defeat at Lincoln City, which proved to be the end of Nicky Hayen’s spell.

Speaking ahead of this afternoon’s trip to Cardiff City, Hountondji sat down with the local media to discuss an array of topics, ranging from his time in East Lancashire so far, how he’s been learning from Jamie Vardy and that peculiar afternoon at Sincil Bank.

Here’s what he had to say:

Starting back to back games

“It's always good as a player to get some minutes. Also, I have some games to refine myself for where I need to improve, where I need to get better, so it's a good base to build on and try to get better.

“There's two aspects, because first of all, when you're a player, when you come on a late game, the game is not the same as when you start, so that's the first thing.

“The second one is obviously touching more the ball, having more action, having more defensive action, offensive action, videos of you, you can look at yourself, see where you're not good enough, see where you're doing good, see your positive and negative aspects of your game, so that's what I say.

“It's a good base for me to improve and try to get better.”

Playing on the right

“I want to play. So obviously, I'm a striker, I like to play in the centre, but if I can play on the side or wherever I can play, I just play.”

Learning from Jamie Vardy

“We have some really good players in the team and Jamie is one of the top ones, he has an amazing journey and obviously also he's a really good player.

“He has some good quality, deep runs, finishing in the box, so even before he came to the club, I used to watch some videos of him, of course, because he's a striker and one of the best.

“So learning from him in the club, and also his mentality, because he has a special one, it's a really good way to learn how to be a good striker.”

How would you assess your time so far at the club?

“So I came two-and-a-half years ago, when Scott Parker had just come in, and it was a top move for me to come here.

“I discovered this really, really good club with big ambition. It was a big step for me because I came from the French Second Division, so I had to improve a lot.

“At this moment it was a shock for me, culture and everything. But I just go back to work, I just work hard, try to be better, because I was not good enough at this time.

“I had this loan in Belgium, Standard de Liege, it was good for me. Last year I had also a good loan for me in Germany, which was the first time in my career that I played in one of the top five leagues.

“So I keep going on, build up, try to grow myself and just be better. Now I'm back and I'm trying to keep building, try to improve, try to get better and deserve this game time that I want, so that's for me the journey for me in Burnley.”

What are the differences between the French and English Second Divisions?

“Obviously the level. Players are better, I'd say that, so obviously the rhythm, there is more rhythm, more physicality, the game is faster, technically also it is better.

“But in another way you also play with better players, so it's harder obviously to play, but it's easier also to play in another way, because people around you are better and just pushing you to the higher levels.”

How did you feel after scoring your first goal against Lincoln?

“It was a special day, but let's say, a weird one too.

“What can I say about this? From my point of view, I was not expected to start the game, so I was just a bit surprised to come in.

“I just tried to do my best and then I was happy that I scored this first goal, but then I think the team didn't play as we wanted to do, so it was a really weird feeling.”

Why do you think it didn’t work out for Nicky Hayen?

“Honestly, I think the first person when we don't have success is always the coach that we blame, but obviously the player also has a big part in that, so I don't have the full answer now.”

How have you found Fabio Celestini so far?

“It's been a good start, I think.

“He set up the first basics. It's been 10 days since he's been, approximately. We have started to train on the minimum basics, and I think we have some good results, some first good results in the way we play first, and in the mentality of the team in the last two games.”

How big would it be to get that second win of the season at Cardiff?

“It would be a massive three points if we can get that. First of all for the head, but also for the work we are doing every day and every week since the start of the season.”

How was it scoring against Vincent Kompany’s Bayern?

“Yeah, it was a nice feeling.

“I spoke with him after the game, because I knew him, I spoke with him also before I came to Burnley, so it was a nice feeling and I was pleased to see him back.

“Obviously we spoke a little about Burnley, but we speak for maybe five minutes or something like that.”