Fulham's Sander Berge reflects on 'special' Burnley spell ahead of Turf Moor return
Burnley’s meeting with Fulham this weekend will see a reunion with their former midfielder Sander Berge.
The Norwegian only spent the one season at Turf Moor, but still managed to leave a lasting impact among the Clarets faithful.
The 27-year-old was one of very few bright sparks from Burnley’s last campaign in the Premier League, which ended in relegation under Vincent Kompany with just 24 points.
Speaking ahead of Saturday’s return, Berge has opened up on his “special” time in East Lancashire in an interview with Fulham’s official website.
Here’s what he had to say:
How do you look back on your time at Turf Moor?
“For me personally I really enjoyed it, I must say.
“Obviously we had a tough season with relegation, which is never nice at all. But I felt very welcome there.
“I got my role in the team and I had a great year of development. It was a good group of players and very good staff who challenged me every single day to improve myself and it was a very good culture to work in.
“The Premier League just showed how tough it can be and I learned a lot about myself and the team back then.
“Burnley have some special memories and the fans were always supporting, so it will be special to go back there.”
Are there still some mates of yours in the team?
“Yeah definitely. There’s still a lot of the same guys that I played with.
“Obviously there are some new faces but many of them I’m still in contact with who I shared a dressing room with or even shared a car from Manchester every day, so that always brings a different feel.”
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You spent a few weeks with Scott Parker?
“I didn’t have much time with Scott because I was injured during that pre-season, but he came in and I got to meet him and got to know him a bit.
“He was a great man and obviously I could clearly see from early on he was going to bring success to Burnley with the way he sees football and the way he values how people behave with hard work and being humble.
“I was pleased to see them doing so well last year coming up again to the Premier League, where they deserve to be. It’s always special to go back to a place where you’ve been.”
They’re on a difficult run, but they have a good record against Fulham at Turf Moor
“Sometimes you don’t get much out of games points-wise, but I think they’ve been doing very well in games this season.
“They started the season well and they were unfortunate not to get points against Liverpool and Manchester United away.
“Even their last home game against Palace, they lost 1-0 but they were in the game and had many chances to score. At Newcastle they were pushing with 10 men to make it 2-2 when they were 2-0 down.
“They come out in a losing way in many games but they are performing well and they have a very clear way of playing and have a very clear character in the team.
“They will clearly be up for it and for them it will be a huge game, as it will be for us.”
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