It feels appropriate that Burnley vice-captain Josh Brownhill was at Disneyland last summer when he learned that Vincent Kompany had been appointed as manager.
What has happened at Turf Moor since then has been a fairy tale – although Burnley’s remarkable promotion, confirmed on Friday, is based on both strategy and fantasy.
At Monday’s homecoming party against Sheffield United, on the manager’s 37th birthday, fans can rest assured that Premier League planning has been underway for some time.
A restructuring of the club’s recruiting departments is underway and Kompany himself has been on reconnaissance missions abroad.
As for the players, a few hours after they made their triumphant return from Middlesbrough, they were back on the training pitch yesterday.
Burnley manager Vincent Kompany and vice-captain Josh Brownhill celebrate promotion
It was quite a turnaround for Burnley in the 10 months since they were relegated
It’s all a far cry from 10 months ago when Burnley were relegated, managerless and in the process of losing a core of key players including Ben Mee, Nick Pope and James Tarkowski.
“I was on vacation in California. Before I left I had tried to ask the owners who would come in as manager, but they gave nothing away’, recalls Brownhill. “I had to recharge after relegation. I visited Disneyland and Universal Studios and turned off my phone. When I turned it back on, I discovered that we had Vincent Kompany.
“His first meeting with us took place in the canteen of the training ground and completely changed the mood. He had an aura as he walked through the door and spoke with great intelligence.
“What excited us was he said that as a defender he loved clean sheets, that he loved going out and scoring goals. We left thinking: “We can’t magic our way back to the Premier League, but we can really go for it”.’
High standards were set even in comparison to the Sean Dyche era. Sauces were forbidden on the training field, cakes were not allowed, not even to celebrate birthdays. The training can take place at any time. In January, the team had completed 47 sessions more than the entire previous season.
Winning makes you happy. New recruits led by Josh Cullen, Nathan Tella, Anass Zaroury, Ian Maatsen and Taylor Harwood-Bellis quickly mingled with existing stalwarts Jack Cork, Ashley Barnes, Jay Rodriguez, Charlie Taylor, Johann Gudmundsson and Brownhill himself, who thrived on a more attacking midfield role.
Brownhill praised the way Kompany has changed the way Burnley have played this season
The Clarets celebrated their achievement at the Riverside by wiping out Wonderwall and Proud Mary in the undressing room. Kompany swallowed everything but remains calm. He wants to finish the job by becoming a champion, which would be his first trophy as a manager. Reflecting on his performance so far, he said: “There were tough decisions (selling players) but reasonable ones to replenish the talent pool. It is sometimes a leap of faith, but we just worked hard.
“It took weeks to convince some players to come, but eventually you get them in the building and in the end they are better than you thought.
“Sometimes the championship can be exhausting. I spoke to Steve Bruce in January and asked him, “Is this normal?” But I’m naturally someone who treats every morning as a reset to motivation.’
Despite scoring in the win that gave them Ashley Barnes will leave Burnley this summer
Barnes will be among those leaving. “Nothing lasts forever, unfortunately. I’ve been through the exact same thing,” Kompany said before describing the attacker as a “club legend” and comparing his story to Rocky: “You fall and get back up.”
Talks will have to be held about top scorer Tella, on a rental basis from Southampton. “I was shocked they didn’t take him back in January, but selfishly very happy. He may have been the best player in the Championship,” Brownhill laughs. Other mercenaries Burnley may want to negotiate include Maatsen (Chelsea) and Harwood-Bellis (Manchester City).
Kompany, who has a master’s degree in business administration, is confident Burnley are in a better position to compete financially than they were a year ago when they had to pay off a £65 million loan.
Emotions will run high at Turf Moor, but as a series winner at Manchester City, Kompany won’t lose his mind until he holds the championship trophy. “There must be silverware,” he says. “Then we’ll talk about the drinks.”