Breaking news: Vincent Kompany addresses Burnley’s momentum ahead of their Premier League return
The Clarets took the second tier by storm during the Belgian’s first season in charge, amassing 101 points and losing just three league games.
After helping break the club’s downward spiral, Kompany is keen for the positivity to continue when the new Premier League campaign gets underway in August.
“You make your own momentum,” he told the club’s official website.
“When you have a negative spiral you break that chain, when you have positive momentum you hold onto it
“The way to hold onto it is by working on it. It’s your habits, it’s your standards, it’s your discipline to your work and then you force your own momentum and break your own bad cycles.
“It’s hard to do because a lot of it is in your head, but with discipline and consistency you make your own momentum.”
Given the crux of last season’s squad remains intact, Kompany believes this summer’s pre-season will be a case of fine-tuning the work that has already been done over the last year.
“Last season came off the back of a relegation, so there was a lot of uncertainty and the players are still trying to get to know where they fit, if they’re part of the plans,” he explained.
“This season, it’s easier in a sense that every player knows what is expected of them.
“All they’re trying to do now is get better at the things we already expect them to do. They’re only continuing what they were already doing before and trying to improve quicker.”
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McDonald leaves Exeter for Bradford City
He joined Exeter in January this year having been out of the game since leaving Dundee United last summer. He played eleven times for them in League One and scored three times. It had been a short-term contract but he’d impressed manager Gary Caldwell who made the offer of a new contract.
He revealed last week that he wouldn’t be signing it and today he completed a move to Bradford City, who last season reached the League Two play-offs. He’s signed a two-year deal with them.
McDonald had been there prior to signing for Exeter and said: “It’s great to get the deal over the line and be here. It has been a long time coming. There has been a lot of work behind the scenes, so to get it finally sorted is exciting.
“I was here on trial for three days in January and enjoyed my time. What I noticed was a good group of lads with a lot of quality and togetherness, and I like that in a dressing room. As a footballer, you want to play in the biggest stadiums and under pressure. I pride myself on being capable in pressurised environments. I do not want to come here and see out a career. I want to be here to get promoted and am looking forward to getting started.”
Bantams’ boss Mark Hughes said: “We are pleased to be welcoming Kevin to the club, as a player we already know a lot about him. After spending a short period with us on trial back in January, he impressed us a lot before eventually joining Exeter City, so to have him with us now is great.
“He is a combative midfielder with bags of experience in the Premier League and Championship, as well as on the international scene with Scotland. He will add even more drive and leadership to our midfield, with his goalscoring numbers at Exeter last season also impressive.
“We are looking forward to having him back with the squad in pre-season and seeing more from him as he gets to know his team mates more.”
Hughes referred to his goalscoring at Exeter but, of course, he was in the Manchester City technical area when McDonald scored our late equaliser at Manchester City in 2009.
