Breaking news: Vincent Kompany explains why Burnley have returned for pre-season so early ahead of Premier League

The Clarets are preparing for the 2023/24 campaign and are back in pre-season training while almost every other team are on their holidays still

Vincent Kompany believes a desire to get Burnley as prepared as possible in all aspects is behind their incredibly early return to pre-season.

It is an extremely early return for the Clarets who were back at their training ground on June 5, with the majority of footballers still soaking up the sun and relaxing after another long, gruelling campaign. The Champions League final has not even taken place yet… but the Burnley boys are getting back to work at Barnfield, as preparations begin for a first Premier League season under Kompany.

Burnley’s pre-season will essentially be split into two, with the current group training now ahead of a trip to Portugal. The Clarets will then have a short break, before pre-season resumes once the international players return – ahead of an expected second summer trip to Portugal. The Clarets have not announced any pre-season friendlies yet.

Kompany outlined why he has had his squad report back little over a week after the Premier League season concluded. Burnley have been off since May 8 when they lifted the Championship trophy, with a parade through the town the day after.

After a mid-season break for the winter World Cup, allied to their time off after winning the Championship title, Kompany vowed it is ‘normal’ for the Clarets to be back now after the volume of downtime they have had.

He believes time on the pitch with his players will be ‘invaluable’ ahead of a return to the top flight in the coming weeks. Kompany believes every hour they can spend with both the senior and younger players will be beneficial to them as he aims for the Clarets to be ‘100% fit and ready’ by the time the campaign begins in mid-August.

He told the club website: “I think it’s normal for us. We had three weeks off and on top of that we also had the winter break. That was another few weeks as well so I think we’ve had enough holiday for the year, for the season.

“I don’t see why we would work less because we’ve won the league first. We’re just looking forward to getting back. The time we’ve got on the pitch with the players now is invaluable to us.

“It’s so important. We’ve got a plan on how we want to be 100% fit and ready by the start of the season but there’s also a development side to this that is really important to us.

“It just means that players came in at different times and players are also wanting to get all the tools to compete next season. To be part of the squad, to be part of the team and play as well.

“We’re able to equip them by individualising the sessions, by making sure they get their fitness levels up in time and a little bit ahead of time.

“I’ve always said as much as we can spend time on the pitch the quicker we can make the players better. We want to make use of every hour we can spend out there and as well it gives us the chance to spend a bit more time with the younger players in the club as well.”

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