Vincent Kompany defends decision to leave experienced players in reserve and admits ‘learning comes at a price’ in the Premier League as winless Burnley are beaten by Aston Villa
- Vincent Kompany left a number of experience players on the bench in Villa loss
- Burnley have signed 13 new players this summer but are yet to record a win
- They were beaten 3-1 by Aston Villa on Sunday courtesy of a Matty Cash brace
Vincent Kompany defended his decision to throw so many new players together whilst some senior players stayed on the bench in the 3-1 defeat against Aston Villa.
Burnley have bought 13 players this summer and all of the Clarets starters yesterday bar one have been signed by the Belgian in the last 14 months, with experienced quartet Josh Brownhill, Jack Cork, Jay Rodriguez and Johann Berg Gudmundsson all named as substitutes.
Naturally there was a lack of cohesion but Kompany insists it’s better for his team to get used to the required level in the Premier League as quickly as possible even though Burnley have lost their first couple of matches, both at Turf Moor.
‘Learning comes at a price in the Premier League,’ he said. ‘It’s a conscious choice. We want to move forward and I have seen enough from us to see something is there.
‘Villa are a good opponent. The goal we scored to make it 2-1 helped us build momentum but at the peak of that, we conceded a third. If you get punished, you have to learn from it.’
Vincent Kompany defended his decision to leave experienced players on the bench in Burnley’s 3-1 defeat to Aston Villa
Matty Cash scored a brace for the visitors to set them on their way to victory at Turf Moor
Summer signing Moussa Diaby grabbed the other goal for Villa after Lyle Foster had pulled one back for Burnley
There hasn’t been a season where all three promoted teams go straight back down again but Luton, Sheffield United and Burnley don’t have a point between them yet.
‘You can see it’s tough. When you play against good sides, everything happens that much quicker,’ added Kompany, who captained Manchester City to every domestic trophy.
‘The Premier League is the highest entry fee there is. I am conscious we lost so I don’t want to say it’s all positive but I saw things we can bottle.
‘At some point, you want to see it turn into results.’
Aston Villa have been revitalised in Emery’s first year at the club and he was as pleased with his side’s resolution as much as their attacking flair which saw wing-back Matty Cash score twice.
‘We were very focussed. Consistent and strong,’ he said. ‘We had to be disciplined in our structure.’
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