Vincent Kompany sends clear message to his Burnley players ahead of final nine games of the season

The Clarets return to action following the two-week international break with a trip to Stamford Bridge today to face Chelsea.

It’s the final break of the season, meaning Burnley now face an uninterrupted run until the end of the campaign.

Kompany’s men currently find themselves 19th in the division, but crucially the gap to safety is now just five points following the recent win against Brentford coupled with the points deduction handed out to Nottingham Forest.

Heading into the business end of the season, Kompany knows it’s all about results from here on in.

“It’s so cliche I try not to say things like that, but it’s absolutely true, there are nine cup finals. There, I’ve said it now,” he said.

“It is of that importance. But for us, the feeling has been like this for a while.

“Against Chelsea we’re playing against a top team but it’s not a luxury game for us, they’re all important games in terms of getting points.

“We saw the feeling it gives you when you do achieve it [three points]. The West Ham game was unfortunate but in terms of where we’re at, we just hope we can keep getting results.”

As a player, Kompany was often part of a Manchester City side that were being chased by other sides, rather than chasing someone themselves.

That’s now flipped on its head at Burnley, but Kompany doesn’t see too much of a difference.

“It’s very similar, very similar,” he said.

“I can just draw a lot of similarities, but the big thing is not to look too much at the league table and previous things.

“I go back to when we were eight points down to Manchester United with what, five or six games left? To a Fergie team, how many times will they have given away that lead going into a run-in?

“It’s just little things I have in my head that I’m just very conscious of the fact of what can happen. The absolute discipline is to focus really on your next game. But to an extreme.

“When you’re in the bubble, you’re not really looking at the results of other teams, you’re not looking for other teams to slip up, you’re just focusing on your own thing and doing it to the best of your ability.”