Dan Black's verdict: Burnley boss Vincent Kompany only has eyes for Burnley and knows that the Spurs gig isn’t the right fit for him right now!

“I’m not convinced it’s the right time for Vincent Kompany to take over at Tottenham!"
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It didn't need former Spurs midfielder Jamie O'Hara to tell the Burnley boss that his immediate future belonged somewhere other than North London.The 37-year-old, who is surely a shoe-in for the EFL Championship Manager of the Season prize, has emerged as the leading contender to succeed Antonio Conte at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.Kompany, a four-time Premier League winner, who won seven of his 12 meetings with Spurs as a player, scoring once, is a 2/1 favourite with some bookmakers, ahead of the likes of Brendan Rodgers, Mauricio Pochettino, Graham Potter and Julian Nagelsmann.“Kompany has done an incredible job at Burnley, but you need to do more than that to get the Tottenham job," continued O'Hara."He is going to be a top, top, manager. He has proven that, but he is at Burnley."As good as his career is going to be, it is too early for Kompany at Spurs. See how he does with Burnley, see if he is successful, then maybe have a look at him."

Kompany will have looked at the long list of elite level coaches who have tried and failed to land the club's first piece of major silverware in more than 30 years.

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Conte won the Premier League with Chelsea, and the Serie A four times with Juventus and Inter Milan. Jose Mourinho has won European titles with Manchester United and Roma, he's a three-time PL winner with Chelsea, a two-time champion with Inter, a La Liga champion with Real Madrid, and he secured the Primeira League title with Porto twice.

Burnley's Manuel Benson (left) and Reading's Amadou Mbengue (right) 

The EFL Sky Bet Championship - Reading v Burnley - Saturday 15th April 2023 - Select Car Leasing Stadium - ReadingBurnley's Manuel Benson (left) and Reading's Amadou Mbengue (right) 

The EFL Sky Bet Championship - Reading v Burnley - Saturday 15th April 2023 - Select Car Leasing Stadium - Reading
Burnley's Manuel Benson (left) and Reading's Amadou Mbengue (right) The EFL Sky Bet Championship - Reading v Burnley - Saturday 15th April 2023 - Select Car Leasing Stadium - Reading

Mauricio Pochettino, now a Ligue 1 winner with PSG, was closest to breaking the spell when taking Spurs to the Champions League final in 2019, when beaten by Liverpool, while others have been pulled underwater by the club's crippling lack of success.

Spurs are specialists in failure and, even though the bar has been set remarkably low by those who have been lured in before, Kompany would be on a hiding to nothing.

The bells and whistles of a swanky new stadium, and assurances of Daniel Levy's backing, might seem like an attractive proposition on first viewing, but history has proven that this particular role has been a poisoned chalice for even the most seasoned and savvy coaches.

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Record-breaker Harry Kane, who has smashed domestic and international records while single-handedly carrying the club, could well leave in the summer, other high-profile names could follow, and that could spell disaster.

Burnley's Lyle Foster (right) battles with Reading's Andy Yiadom (right)  

The EFL Sky Bet Championship - Reading v Burnley - Saturday 15th April 2023 - Select Car Leasing Stadium - ReadingBurnley's Lyle Foster (right) battles with Reading's Andy Yiadom (right)  

The EFL Sky Bet Championship - Reading v Burnley - Saturday 15th April 2023 - Select Car Leasing Stadium - Reading
Burnley's Lyle Foster (right) battles with Reading's Andy Yiadom (right) The EFL Sky Bet Championship - Reading v Burnley - Saturday 15th April 2023 - Select Car Leasing Stadium - Reading

Would Kompany want to be left picking up the pieces? It's very doubtful. Will he be given the time to steady the ship while adding his own design to a wild and scribbled canvas? That's also very doubtful.

He'll only have to look towards Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard to see that the grass isn't always greener. Trying and, consequently, failing might seem like a courageous act.

But taking one step forward to go several steps back if an ambitious move does blow up in your face can be a difficult scenario to recover from. Kompany needs time to cut his teeth, away from the melodrama and scrutiny of a club in disarray.

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He said himself: “I don’t waste answers on my future. I said it from day one of my job here at Burnley in anticipation that one day there might be a question like this. So crack on

Burnley's Manuel Benson (left) 

The EFL Sky Bet Championship - Reading v Burnley - Saturday 15th April 2023 - Select Car Leasing Stadium - ReadingBurnley's Manuel Benson (left) 

The EFL Sky Bet Championship - Reading v Burnley - Saturday 15th April 2023 - Select Car Leasing Stadium - Reading
Burnley's Manuel Benson (left) The EFL Sky Bet Championship - Reading v Burnley - Saturday 15th April 2023 - Select Car Leasing Stadium - Reading

“This is something that is the reason why I chose Burnley. You can trace back to my very first interviews before I even played a game with this team, I chose for people and I feel in that I made the right decision and it’s an invaluable place to work, especially when we keep talk about managers getting sacked left, right and centre.

"It’s an enjoyable place to work in. I think wherever I am, in my head, it’s always the biggest job in the world - always."

While all those on the outside continue to put 2+2 together to get five, Kompany's approach to the Clarets' goalless draw at Reading gave the impression that the ex-Belgium international will only be visiting N17 as an opposition coach next season.The Manchester City legend is quite clearly ignoring the temptation that is protruding on his peripheral vision, with the six changes made for the trip to Berkshire seemingly reflective of his commitment at Turf Moor.Kompany is plotting for the Premier League, with Burnley, unselfishly jeopardising his own ambitions to become a second tier history-maker to concentrate on shaping his squad for the next chapter.Preparing for the Premier League, after all-but securing the title, is his one and only objective at present, and the spring clean within his group starts now.He wanted to cast his eye over the likes of Bailey Peacock-Farrell, Ameen Al-Dakhil, Scott Twine and Lyle Foster, who had each made less than three starts in the league this term.And following the 18th minute departure of leading scorer Nathan Tella, the Premier League Hall of Famer inadvertently had the opportunity to have a look at Darko Churlinov, who had returned to the 18-man squad.There's a much bigger picture to this project, which he initially signed up for on a five-year deal."We got to see some players, which is important, we want to get the results, but we were competitive so I didn't feel like we opened up a massive gap, or we massively exposed ourselves," he said."We got to see players that we want to see before the end of the season, players that have already done a lot of good things for us this season."That's how you have to use this period of time. We want to win as much as everyone else, but the truth is we have one advantage between now and the end of the season, in that we have a little bit of time on our hands."If we don't do it now, before you know it we're in July and the pressure of the Premier League is starting. I would've been worried if I'd have seen a different team out there, but I didn't. On another day I think we can score, but I have to credit Reading. These games aren't going to be easy."It's controlled change. The problem you have is if all of a sudden you look disjointed, which is the biggest risk of change, and why you get disjointed performances in cup games, but we've put as much time in our coaching in the lads who haven't been playing, and the lads who are, since day one."The extent of the changes, as wholesale as they were, understandably compromised the cohesion within the side that started, particularly in the final third, which may prompt Kompany to be a little more subtle in his experimentation heading to the New York Stadium.But he was content when analysing the performance, pointing to a 19th clean sheet of the campaign, having kept just two in their first 12 games, and identifying the worth of the club as a collective.Just three of the players who started the 1-0 win over Huddersfield Town at the John Smith's Stadium on the opening day - Taylor, Connor Roberts and Josh Cullen - were given the nod against the Royals.Everyone has played a part up to this point, and they'll continue to contribute until the title is won and the curtain is drawn on the 2022=23 term.Kompany said: "All these games who haven't been playing recently had played in the beginning, so they've already played a role, and now the danger is match rhythm. I haven't seen any issues with it and I'm actually quite proud of them and quite pleased with the performance. It would've been even better if we'd have scored a few goals."You have to think who started against Huddersfield more than 40 games ago. Then think who finished against Blackburn before the international break, then who got us through January and right through to now."They're different names and it would be silly to forget it at this point. We have to see them on the pitch, we can't wait until July and then start making big decisions. Now is the moment to reward them and see them because the answer is always on the pitch."It did impinge on their success in front of goal, and caused some fragmentation across the pitch, with the visitors owning the only shot on target throughout the whole 90 minutes, courtesy of Manuel Benson, while becoming susceptible to the counter on occasions.The Belgian failed to convert a one-on-one with Joe Lumley when getting on the end of Al-Dakhil's measured pass over the top, while others were limited to pot shots and hopeful efforts from distance, which was hugely uncharacteristic of the Clarets.Churlinov squandered another potentially match-winning opening in the second half when bringing down Twine's delivery inside the box, surviving one challenge, and lifting his effort over the angle.The North Macedonia international was also unable to capitalise when cushioning the ball on the edge of the penalty area - having timed his run well to gain a legitimate advantage over his marker - and failing to get a shot away.Burnley did severely restrict their hosts at the other end, despite Femi Azeez threatening to break twice, and controlled the encounter with the lion's share of possession, clocking in at 75% this time around.In the end, however, the owners of the Championship's highest ever points total, set at 106 in 2005-06, did enough to ensure that their rivals couldn't usurp their status as history-makers.The defence of the club's three-figure record formed part of interim manager Noel Hunt's pre-match team-talk, with the Under 23s coach asked to do the honours in the wake of Paul Ince's exit.Though the Clarets can still equal their milestone, the Republic of Ireland international shared: “It’s a valuable point. Today’s focus was getting a result and keeping our record, which was part of our team talk and I don’t mind sharing that. We don’t mind sharing it but we don’t lose it because they are an incredible side.“I think they’ll be right there or thereabouts with the record come the end of the season. I think they’ll be champions this time next week and rightly so, they’re incredible at what they do."