Vincent Kompany expecting tough start to Championship with Burnley

And he accepts it will be difficult to get his side fully prepared for the big kick-off in the space of five weeks, as he looks to implement his vision at Turf Moor.

Burnley will open the EFL season at Huddersfield Town – losing play-off finalists – before hosting play-off semi-finalists Luton Town, and then making the trip to Watford, relegated with the Clarets from the Premier League.

Kompany admitted: “It's a complicated start, playing against some tough teams and some teams that have been tipped for promotion.

"But you start more difficult, you recover a few games later. It will give us a good idea of where the team is early doors and maybe that's better.”

He had been with most of the players, bar those on international duty, this week, and acknowledges it is a short time to get over his methods: “That is the hardest part, how quickly you can turn it around, especially when you have got new players and new ideas coming in, and still a little bit of uncertainty.

"It is like this when a club gets relegated. It is normal.

"But in terms of what I've seen the team do on the training pitch, and the togetherness they have shown in the first few days, that is one thing we will take from the previous season into the new season which will help us.”

Much of Burnley’s pre-season campaign will be behind closed doors to fans and the media .

Kompany’s side will kick off their training games on Friday, July 1st against Rochdale in a behind-closed-doors friendly at Gawthorpe.

The Clarets then have a double-header on Saturday, July 9th, against Wolves behind-closed-doors at the Sir Jack Hayward Training Centre, while a seperate XI take on Burton Albion at the Pirelli Stadium, with the later kick off time of 3-30 p.m. the same afternoon.

Burnley then travel to Sky Bet League One side Shrewsbury Town – managed by former Clarets boss Steve Cotterill – on Friday, July, 15th, kick-off 7 p.m., before travelling to Portugal on Sunday, July 17th for six days in Lisbon, at a state-of-the-art training complex, with two behind-closed-doors matches scheduled to be played.