Vincent Kompany insists he will not “overthink” the end of the season as Burnley continue their fight for Premier League safety with the visit of Newcastle today.
Burnley’s recent upturn in form has propelled them to within two points of safety, with their latest impressive performance earning a 1-1 draw against Manchester United at Old Trafford last weekend.
The 19th-placed Clarets have struggled on their own patch for much of the campaign but, since their 2-0 defeat to Bournemouth at the start of March, they have gone unbeaten in their last three at Turf Moor.
Newcastle have scored nine goals in their last three games but Burnley boss Kompany says there is no reason to change things with three matches to go.
He said: “You have to respect their attacking capabilities but at the same time it’s Saturday at Turf Moor. It’s a different day, different opponent, anything can happen, that’s the mindset and we’ve played good players all season so why start to overthink it now? If they are better than us well done, if not we need to make sure we are the best we can be.”
Nottingham Forest boss Nuno Espirito Santo expects his side’s Premier League relegation battle to go down to the wire. Forest are embroiled in a three-way battle with Luton and Burnley to avoid the remaining two places in the bottom three.
There is still an asterisk next to Forest’s name in the table as they await news of their appeal against a four-point deduction due to breaking profit and sustainability rules. And Nuno believes even if his side win at already-relegated Sheffield United, things will not be decided until the final day when Forest play Burnley in a possible relegation shootout.
“Looking at the table and the next matches, it’s going to be until the end, it’s not going to be solved (today),” Nuno said. “We depend on ourselves and after Sheffield United it must still be in our hands so, for that, we must win.”
Brentford head coach Thomas Frank feels the club must always demand more as they look to continue to hold their own in the “brutal” Premier League.
Although Brentford lost at Everton last weekend, previous victories over Sheffield United and Luton, coupled with results elsewhere, secured the club’s Premier League status ahead of the final three matches.
A fourth consecutive season in the top flight is some achievement for Brentford, now settled in at the Gtech Community Stadium after 116 years at Griffin Park which were mostly spent battling for survival lower down the pyramid.
Frank, though, insists no-one at the west London club should be resting on their laurels.
“It is fantastic that the expectations are rising, I think that is always an indicator that you have done something very good,” Frank said. “We have made some fantastic results, I think, (but) we always want more. We want to be an asset to the Premier League, we want to develop, we want to do better, but this league is brutal. It is the best league in the world, and last year we had the lowest budget but finished ninth, which shouldn’t be possible.”
