Vincent Kompany insists he takes no pleasure in Manchester United’s recent struggles despite his past at rivals City.
Kompany takes his Burnley side to Old Trafford on Saturday, hoping to inflict a sixth home defeat of the season on a United side who have seen their hopes of a top-four finish effectively ended already. A win for the Clarets would merely offer confirmation.
Erik Ten Hag’s position is under scrutiny after Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s buy-in saw his INEOS group take control of United’s football operations, and a series of chaotic games in recent weeks has hardly helped his cause.
United needed penalties to see off Championship Coventry in the FA Cup semi-final after blowing a 3-0 lead, and twice trailed rock-bottom Sheffield United before ending a four-game winless run in the league with a 4-2 victory on Wednesday night. Old Trafford’s aura has certainly dimmed from the days when Kompany went there as a player, but despite his strong City connections, Kompany dismissed the idea he would enjoy that situation.
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“Pleasure? No, come on,” he said. “On the other side is a manager that I have a lot of respect for, that I know the quality of, that I’ve seen and faced in different leagues.
“He was at Ajax when I was in Belgium with Anderlecht, I’ve seen the quality of his teams and what he’s been doing, so on the contrary, there’s a form of respect there, but I’m more about our business. Of course I’m happy and I can’t hide it if City do well but my whole world exists of Burnley and what we can achieve.”
Kompany has plenty of happy memories from Old Trafford as a player, not least City’s famous 6-1 win in 2011, but had no interest in dwelling on them as he prepares for Saturday’s match. Burnley will head down the M66 three points from safety with four games left to play, and still in with a chance of survival despite spending the entire season to date in the bottom three.
“I want to build memories as a manger at Old Trafford,” Kompany said. “I put playing memories aside for now…
“It’s a meaningful game. It’s been a meaningful game for many years in my life but it’s really about Burnley and Burnley facing United on the day. It’s for this club where I want to be successful there on Saturday.”
Burnley lost 1-0 at home to United back in September, and have put in some encouraging performances on the road against the likes of Aston Villa, a narrow 3-2 defeat, and in their recent 2-2 draw at Chelsea. What has been missing in a big scalp.
“It’s a glass half-full situation,” Kompany said. “I’ve got a repertoire of games that can give me plenty of confidence. We did well at some tough places but what we’ve lacked is the three-pointer and those type of results.
“We’ve had some good experiences but I’d like to push it again, I’d like to maybe make that next step. With all respect United is a tough game but I do want us to make that next step.”
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