Vincent Kompany plays down mental toll of Burnley's 'frustrating' Premier League struggles

After romping to the Championship title in style last season with 101 points, the Clarets have found it hard doing in the top flight.

While Kompany’s men still stand a chance, sitting six points adrift of safety with five games left to play, it’s been a challenging campaign from start to finish – with just four league wins to their name.

While Kompany concedes there’s been an obvious frustration in how things have transpired, it’s not tampered with his enjoyment of the job.

“It was tougher last year in the Championship, there were more games,” he said.

“How many midweek games have we had this season, six? I think we had 16 or something last season and it was all condensed because of the World Cup in the middle.

“It was maybe an exceptional year in terms of the calendar, maybe that was bound to happen anyway, but the draining…if you feel you’re going in a direction and the people you’re working with don’t want to go with you, I can see how that would be draining. But that’s not been the case one single day of my season.

“There’s been frustration at times because I look back at the last six games and there’s six games where we could have made a serious claim to get the three points, never mind a draw. When you don’t reward yourself, that’s frustrating.

“But in the end, the job itself I’m in an unbelievable environment and that’s credit to the club.”

While Burnley’s performances have improved in recent weeks and they’ve become harder to beat, the results haven’t necessarily reflected that - Kompany’s men winning just one of their last six.

But Kompany says it’s not Burnley’s recent form that will cost them if they do end up going down.

“I think the whole season, when you’re down to where we are, the whole season has an impact,” he said.

“Anything that has happened in the season. It’s been fine margins so many times as well.

“I don’t think we’re the only club by the way, when I look at the other teams around us whether it’s Sheffield United, whether it’s Luton or whether it’s others, the amount of times they’re in games and the game is so close, but the difference is the ball lands inside the post a couple of times and sometimes it’s outside the post.

“It’s been the type of season where in the beginning, and I’m talking very early doors, we found it difficult to adapt quickly but for a while now we’ve been in every game.

“But when you ask about frustration, it’s been after a game when you feel like we could have done more.

“At times, and that was my frustration with my overreaction with the officials, there’s been times where it’s been our own fault and our own mistakes and sometimes it’s not been our fault, which is unfortunate.”