Burnley’s survival hopes have suffered a significant blow with winger Luca Koleosho facing several months out with a knee injury.

The 19-year-old summer signing from Espanyol has been one of Burnley’s brightest lights so far this term and scored his first goal for the club in Saturday’s 5-0 win over Sheffield United.

But the Italy under-21 international was hurt in the first half of Tuesday’s 1-0 defeat at Wolves and, after initially trying to carry on, was forced off with 36 minutes gone.

“It’s bad news for us,” manager Vincent Kompany said. “He’s going to be out for a while apparently…I’d like to think he’ll still play this season but it might be towards the end of the season.”

Kompany would not disclose the precise nature of Koleosho’s injury but the loss of the pacy and incisive young forward is a major setback for a team who, Saturday’s big win aside, have struggled to score goals all season.

“We’ll do everything we can to make sure that he’ll get back healthy and ready to go again,” Kompany added. “I think now the key concern for us is to make sure he doesn’t sustain any long-term damage because he’s still young, we’ll do everything right by him…

“Past the fact that it’s a blow for a young player, I still think it’s for someone else now to step up and wear the shirt in a way that Luca has done.

“In these moments if you keep your head calm you can really get better, get stronger from these moments. I’ve no doubt he’ll come back stronger but for us short-term wise it’s an undeniable blow.”

But when asked if Koleosho’s injury could force Burnley into the January transfer market, Kompany said it was unlikely a club that signed 15 players in the summer would be busy next month.

“The squad is still fairly large and we don’t have unlimited resources,” Kompany said. “If we can find a way to improve the squad drastically we’ll do that but if it’s just to add numbers that’s not what we’re out for…

“I don’t see how we could drastically go out there and drastically spend our way into staying in this division. It would have to be one or two really smart deals if we can find them.

“You’re not necessarily in the strongest position when you’re at the bottom of the league to make a case to a player to commit his future to you, but there might be an opportunity.

“The key thing for us is also making sure the players we have now and the clear improvements you see, that they keep that progress level up.

“The likes of Zeki (Amdouni) or Sander Berge, these guys, their performance has improved that much from two months ago and they’ve got that much left to go, that could be the key factor for us in turning performances into results.”

Burnley ended their wait for a Premier League home win in style with a 5-0 rout of fellow strugglers Sheffield United, climbing off the foot of the table and piling pressure on Blades boss Paul Heckingbottom.

Jay Rodriguez needed just 15 seconds to head Vincent Kompany’s side in front and Jacob Bruun Larsen doubled the lead in the 28th minute, with United ending the first half a man down after Oli McBurnie collected two petulant yellow cards in quick succession.

More pain followed for United in the second half as Zeki Amdouni and Luca Koleosho scored two in the space of three minutes before Josh Brownhill added a fifth, giving Burnley their biggest ever Premier League win.

No English league club had ever opened a season with eight home defeats and Burnley could not afford to set that record against a United side who began the day one point better off, with these two starting the day first and second in terms of the worst starts to a Premier League season by promoted sides.

Both Burnley’s wins to date have come against teams promoted alongside them in the summer, but after encouraging displays against Crystal Palace and West Ham, three points offer tangible reward for improving performances.

For United it was another chastening day, the pain of defeat increased by the loss of McBurnie to a needless suspension. There was no sign of the sort of quality that will be needed to get them out of trouble.

Burnley scored the opener with a move straight from kick-off. James Trafford punted the ball forward, Amdouni shifted it to the left and Charlie Taylor whipped in a first-time cross for Rodriguez to head home.

It was the quickest Premier League goal of the season, and made Rodriguez the first player in the league’s history to score in the opening 15 seconds of two separate games, 10 years and one day after he pounced for Southampton against Chelsea.

Burnley doubled their lead when Bruun Larsen got in front of Luke Thomas to reach Dara O’Shea’s long ball, cutting in off the right before passing the ball under the despairing dive of Wes Foderingham.

United’s frustrations soon surfaced. McBurnie, back in the starting 11 after scoring the late consolation in last week’s home defeat to Bournemouth, was lucky to only see yellow for catching O’Shea with an elbow in the 36th minute, leaving Kompany livid on the sideline.

Moments later O’Shea caught McBurnie, who delivered enough theatrics to ensure his counterpart also saw yellow, and Kompany joined both players in the book for his remonstrations.

More was to follow and when McBurnie caught O’Shea with an arm once again in first-half stoppage time, he earned a second yellow card and a head start on the trudge to the dressing room.

Heckingbottom, already forced into one substitution due to an injury for George Baldock, made a triple change at the break as Benie Traore, James McAtee and William Osula came on for Thomas, John Fleck and Cameron Archer.

It meant only half United’s outfield players that started the match were still on for the start of the second half. But it did little to change United’s fortunes and the floodgates opened after the 73rd minute.

Burnley’s third came when United failed to clear a corner and Jordan Beyer headed the ball down for Amdouni to spring between Jack Robinson and Anel Ahmedhodzic before playing the ball beyond Foderingham.

Moments later Koleosho cracked a shot off the crossbar when Foderingham could only parry Amdouni’s shot, but the teenager was soon celebrating his first Premier League goal as he shrugged off a challenge and beat the goalkeeper at his near post.

Brownhill rifled in the fifth from the edge of the box with 10 minutes to go.

Burnley manager Vincent Kompany believes increasing diversity at boardroom level is the key to unlocking change at every other level of football.

Last week the Football Association released figures showing the football clubs who had voluntarily pledged to improve their ethnic and gender diversity through the Football Leadership Diversity Code had collectively failed to hit any of their annual targets.

Fifty-three clubs have signed up to the FLDC, which is in its third year and which sets voluntary targets in four areas of recruitment – senior leadership roles, team operations, coaching in the men’s game and coaching in the women’s game.

But figures for the last 12 months show clubs failing to achieve success in any category.

Senior leadership hiring of black, Asian and mixed heritage candidates is set at 15 per cent, but clubs only achieved 9.1 per cent. In men’s clubs, the target for new coaching hires from a black, Asian or mixed heritage background was 25 per cent but clubs only managed 16 per cent.

Asked what he thought could be done to improve those figures, Kompany said change must come from the top.

“You’d like to think over time this is going to evolve,” the 37-year-old said. “I’ve always made the point clearly and I think in this day and age it’s even more important – what is the diversity in a boardroom, the levers of power?

“The coaching, you give the job to the best people but I think the diversity, where it’s really needed is where the power is, that’s what affects everything we’re doing.

“If you have a boardroom that’s diverse, you can’t brush things under the carpet. These things will get solved.”

The latest figures show that within the 53 club signatories, 21 per cent of senior leaders and 29 per cent of team operations are female and seven per cent of senior leaders and nine per cent of team operations are black, Asian or mixed heritage.

Across the coaching workforce, 13 per cent of coaches and 11 per cent of senior coaches are black, Asian or mixed heritage.

“If you have 15 (job) applications and management and the board have got opinions from different walks of life, you can’t just brush it under the carpet, it goes through everything…” Kompany added.

“Today you have to choose between black and white, pro this or against this, but I think once you have a little bit of diversity you get much closer to the truth. The reality is, yes there isn’t enough but the truth is that’s only what we see. What’s behind it is more important to bring balance.

“When it’s balanced it’s going to be more fair and when it’s more fair it will take a little bit of pressure away from the whole debate I think.”

Vincent Kompany has suffered no loss of belief despite the bruising start to the season suffered by his Burnley side.

Last season Kompany’s men were breaking records as they charged to the Championship title with 101 points, with many – not least Pep Guardiola – talking up the former Manchester City captain’s chances of one day taking over at the Etihad Stadium.

But there has been a major reality check for Burnley since they got back to the top flight and history is now being made for the wrong reasons as they have lost seven straight home league games to start the campaign, and go into Saturday’s match against fellow strugglers Sheffield United rock bottom.

Kompany is paying no attention to the statistics, however, as he remains convinced his side are improving and remain on the right course.

“Statistics are just statistics,” he said. “To me, that’s not why I’m doing the job. If I wanted to take away the risk of this happening maybe I would make different choices in life. For me I’m in it for everything that goes with it.

“No matter what happens, when the story of this gets written however many years from now this is just part of it. I believe in myself a lot as well. That’s the truth of it.”

Although Kompany has stuck to his principles during Burnley’s struggles so far, he insisted that did not mean his side had not been adapting during the season, and pointed to recent improvements in the performances against Crystal Palace, Arsenal and West Ham – even if all three ended in defeat.

“I try and be consistent,” he said. “That’s also a method to get over moments like this, but I think if you look closely at what we’ve done from the start to now, adapting is definitely what we’ve done.

“I don’t know how you give up principles but you adapt. If you break down the positives, the performances we’ve definitely adapted but we knew we had to.

“You can’t come into the Premier League on the back of a season where you had 101 points and the first thing you do is say, ‘I don’t believe you can do it this way’. You have to stress test it first and then adapt.

“We’ve very clearly adapted and that’s given us the narrative of the last three or four games.”

Burnley caught the eye in the Championship with possession-based attacking football, but trying to play like that in the Premier League was always going to be a very difficult challenge.

While Burnley have had to change, Kompany said his own natural aggressive instincts remain.

“The possession reputation comes from the fact we were the better team in the Championship, but I try to make the point that I’m naturally aggressive,” Kompany said. “I was an aggressive player. It’s such an important thing for me.

“Last year we were so good in those moments. The difference is we were better than other teams, we had more of the ball. This season, whether we have the ball or not is not always decided by us.

“The point I’m trying to make is when you don’t have the ball, I don’t see any reason why it shouldn’t be like the West Ham game or the Palace game was good as well or Arsenal where we were done by two set plays.

“It’s what wasn’t there at the start of the season but it’s something we always had and hopefully we’ve recovered it now.”

Burnley boss Vincent Kompany had no qualms about the lengthy delay to check an offside call late on in their 2-1 Premier League loss at Bournemouth, but was incensed by the decision not to review a handball in the final moments of the match.

The Clarets suffered an eighth defeat of the campaign after goals by Antoine Semenyo and Philip Billing cancelled out Charlie Taylor’s sweet strike in the 11th minute.

A controversial moment occurred after 89 minutes when Jay Rodriguez fired into the bottom corner and – although it was immediately ruled out for offside – video assistant referee David Coote at Stockley Park took six minutes to review the incident.

Initially a green line was drawn to signal it was onside before a new line was drawn, which showed red and it was eventually ruled out, but Kompany was left stunned that a supposed handball by Chris Mepham was not checked in the eighth minute of added time.

Mepham and Burnley substitute Sander Berge tangled from a Taylor cross which resulted in Bournemouth goalkeeper Andrei Radu making a close-range save that appeared to be from Berge’s head, but Kompany stated it was actually via Mepham’s hand.

“It’s obvious at this moment in time, I will not have anything other than disappointment,” Kompany said.

“I want to address the first thing for me now which is the last thing that happened in the game. The handball situation in the box.

“Games get played on a knife edge but I am trying still to wrap my head around what happened in that moment of time.

“We take five to seven minutes to review the offside or not offside. The line goes green which means goal, the line goes red which means it is not a goal.

“OK, I am a person who always believes in the fact they have taken their time because they want to make the right decision. And a decision gets given against us.

“Tough one to take but then when the situation happens in the last moment of the game and we don’t take time to review the handball?

“There is no call to the referee to delay play when the players have called for it and the staff on the bench, we could see with a wide angle that there was a handball.

“It is the hand that brings the ball down. And there is no check, no delay for the restart and the ball goes and we lose the game. I am trying to understand what is happening in that moment.”

Kompany revealed he did speak with referee Sam Barrott after the match.

He added: “Yeah, I think for the first time in my career since I have been a manager I have actually politely and calmly gone to ask for a word of explanation from the officials.

“They were very open with me and they seemed surprise by the fact we would have liked this (handball) to go to VAR, so it means no one from VAR has told them it was worth reviewing. When you look at it, it is as blatant as it can be.

“I’m fairly confident this one would have taken them 15 seconds (to review).”

While Kompany was flabbergasted, Bournemouth head coach Andoni Iraola was able to toast a first Premier League win at the 10th time of asking thanks to Semenyo’s fine solo goal and Billing’s 76th-minute lob from 40 yards.

“Obviously happy, relieved because I think it was a needed victory for us,” Iraola said.

“Probably when you are in this situation everything costs a lot more. It happened today. We really deserved to win today but with the last VAR decision of the offside, we had to suffer until the end.

“For sure we all were remembering the Brentford game in stoppage-time and thinking it cannot happen again, because we didn’t deserve – we deserved to win clearly the game.”

On the handball, Iraola admitted: “I haven’t seen it.”

Vincent Kompany is refusing to put any extra emphasis on Tuesday’s trip to face fellow Premier League new boys Luton as his side look to end their winless start to the season.

Kompany has spoken repeatedly about the tough start Burnley have faced – they have already suffered defeats against Manchester City, Manchester United, Newcastle, Tottenham, and Aston Villa – and many fans have been looking to the postponed trip to Kenilworth Road for a much-needed victory.

But the 37-year-old Kompany said it would do his side no good to treat this match differently to any other.

“It’s a mental exercise for me to really try and make no distinction,” he said. “It’s how I have been brought up, it’s how I know football.

“When you’re at the very top and you underestimate the small sides, you lose points. When you’re at the bottom and you overestimate the big sides…you don’t stand a chance.

“So I want to have consistency in every game, doing what it takes to get a result. I understand Luton is someone we faced last season so we’re looking forward to meeting our old friends again.”

This fixture was originally due to be played in the second week of the season but was postponed while Luton worked to upgrade their ground following promotion and Kompany said he felt the delay had benefited both sides in terms of their improvement since the campaign began.

But while Luton’s work was rewarded with a first win when they beat Everton 2-1 at Goodison Park on Saturday, Burnley have taken only one point from their opening six games.

Results are needed now, but Kompany said there had been no loss of confidence within his squad despite the tough start.

“What we did is we went into this with eyes wide open,” he said. “We did a lot of work on managing expectations.

“I can draw a little bit on my own experience. When you get to a certain level, year one or the first three or four months might not feel straightaway when you feel you belong in a place.

“But they’ll battle themselves through it and then they’ll see soon enough that a lot of these players, most of these players, are good enough to play this at this level and actually enjoy success at this level. But you know you’ve to learn the tough way sometimes.”

Kompany insisted he has not been losing any sleep himself, other than during a brief illness last week.

“No chance, on the contrary,” he said when asked if his own confidence had been dented. “I’ve seen enough to believe in the squad.

“But to the point as well, like I’ve said, I’m conscious that it’s not the words ‘I’m happy’. I’m not happy but I’ve seen enough in terms of habits and how these guys approach it to know that they’ll come out stronger from this. They’ll come out a good team.”

Lyle Foster is likely to go straight back into the side after serving a three-match ban for his late red card at Forest and could bring a much-needed boost to a Burnley side who are the lowest scorers in the league.

Foster had scored two in five for Burnley, also netting for South Africa, before his ban.

“I think he was on a trajectory where he showed good signs to be a good player in this league,” Kompany said.

“I think the guys who filled in did well, but you know when you have someone with momentum, you want to keep him as much as you can involved.

“Hopefully tomorrow we can have the Lyle that we had before the suspension and and then everybody knows he is a threat and he scores goals as well.”

Vincent Kompany is excited about Wilson Odobert’s potential after watching the teenager score on his full debut for Burnley in a 4-0 Carabao Cup win over League Two Salford.

The 18-year-old had already tested home goalkeeper Alex Cairns on a couple of occasions before crowning a comfortable win for Burnley with his 81st-minute strike, collecting a cross from the impressive Anass Zaroury and cutting back inside before firing home.

It was only Odobert’s second appearance in a Burnley shirt following his summer move from Troyes and while Kompany will not rush the young Frenchman, the manager wants him to be making a regular contribution soon as the Clarets look to turn around their Premier League form.

“We talk about the team settling and stuff and as I’ve told you, some of the guys who will be the heroes for us this season, you don’t see them but I see them in training and we have to be prepared for them to come into the team,” Kompany said.

“Guys like Wilson are these type of guys. You can see the talent. It’s a matter of time. Is it tomorrow? Is it in a week or a month’s time? We don’t know. We’ll go with them.

“Just like Luca Koleosho, we’ve some exciting players and hopefully they’ll be able to show it very soon for us. We’ll need it.”

Kompany made 11 changes from the side that lost 1-0 to Manchester United on Saturday as he continues to marshal a 34-strong squad and figure out his best combinations.

But even with so many changes, it still felt like a strong selection. Vitinho returned from injury, Odobert made his first start and Jack Cork got only his second run out of the campaign, starting in defence, but most of those involved have already featured regularly this term.

After bringing in 13 new faces this summer, Burnley still need time to gel, as has been reflected by their winless start to the Premier League season. A cup win over a side struggling near the bottom of League Two is only a small step forward, but progress all the same.

“We’ve got a lot of players still gelling together and I don’t think players would have played together as a team,” Kompany said. “Seeing a collective performance is more important than just seeing the individuals for me.”

He added of that gelling process: “It’s not something that’s abnormal. We knew it was part of something that was going to happen and we had it last year. In that sense, it’s not different.

“The level of opposition of course is different but you work hard on the training ground and after every game to make sure the team gets to the level it needs to be at as quickly as possible. You also enjoy that side of it. That’s why we’re coaches…

“It’s still early days for a lot of these guys but in the end, if the collective is robust then you can make adaptations. We prioritised game time – Corky played at centre back as if he had played there for the last 10 years.

“But when you look after the ball and when you have strikers and wingers who can be dangerous, it always gives you a chance to spread the load across the team.”

Manchester City will begin their bid for a record fourth consecutive Premier League title away to Vincent Kompany’s Burnley.

The Treble winners will visit Turf Moor to face their former captain’s newly-promoted side on the evening of Friday, August 11 to raise the curtain on the 2023-24 campaign.

It will be the second time Kompany – who won the title on four occasions as City skipper – will have faced his old side as a manager, with City running out 6-0 winners at the Etihad in March’s FA Cup quarter-final.

Premier League debutants Luton will play their first top-flight fixture since 1992 away to Roberto De Zerbi’s Brighton on Saturday, August 12, having to wait until the following weekend for their first home game when Kenilworth Road will become the smallest ground to host a fixture in the competition for the visit of Burnley.

The other promoted side Sheffield United kick off their season with a home game against Crystal Palace.

The outstanding fixture of the opening weekend will be at Stamford Bridge where Mauricio Pochettino begins life as Chelsea manager against Liverpool on Sunday, August 13, with both sides looking to bounce back after disappointing campaigns.

Arsenal, following an anticlimactic conclusion to last season’s title challenge, open at home to Nottingham Forest in Saturday’s lunchtime game, with fellow Champions League qualifiers Newcastle hosting Aston Villa that evening and Manchester United beginning against Wolves at Old Trafford on Monday, August 14.

Ange Postecoglou’s first game in charge of Tottenham will be away to Brentford at 2pm on Sunday, Bournemouth open at home to Europa Conference League winners West Ham, and Everton, looking to avoid a third straight relegation scrap, begin at home to Fulham.

The first north London derby of the campaign sees Spurs visit Arsenal on September 23 (with the return on April 27) while Man City travel to the Emirates on October 7 for a meeting of last season’s top two.

October 28 at Old Trafford will bring the first Manchester derby since City matched United’s Treble-winning feat of 1999 (United go to the Etihad on March 2), with the champions hosting Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool on November 25.

The first Merseyside derby of the campaign sees Everton go to Anfield on October 21, while Pochettino will take his new side to face his old one when Chelsea visit Tottenham on November 4.

Mikel Arteta is unlikely to be impressed with Arsenal’s schedule, with the club’s first two Champions League fixtures in six years coming immediately ahead of games against Tottenham and City.

Pochettino will receive an early test of his Chelsea rebuild when the Blues face Tottenham, Man City and Newcastle in consecutive games in November.

Luton have been handed a seemingly kind start to life in the Premier League, their only meeting with any of the ‘big six’ in their first seven games coming away at Chelsea on August 26.

The final weekend sees all three promoted sides play at home, with Burnley welcoming Forest, Sheffield United hosting Spurs and Luton playing Fulham.

Vincent Kompany ended Burnley’s title-winning season with a 3-0 home victory over Cardiff and revealed why he chose to sign a new five-year contract at the Premier League-bound club.

The former Manchester City captain led the post-match celebrations and Championship trophy presentation having steered his club back to the top flight – where he intends to have “a bit of fun”.

It marked a remarkable first season in English management for the Belgian who was appointed following the Clarets’ relegation 12 months ago.

The final-day win came 24 hours after the highly-rated 37-year-old signed a new five-year contract that could keep him in charge at Turf Moor until 2028.

Kompany’s efforts have attracted the interest of potential suitors, with Chelsea the latest to be linked with interest in him.

“I still had three or four years left and it’s not something I went chasing but there is a pragmatic reason for signing the new deal,” said Kompany.

“For my pathway, this is the right decision, but it helps when we try and recruit players.

“When I’m trying to convince a player to come here it’s easier just after I have signed a new deal.

“We have had a massive advantage planning for next season, because we have known about promotion of a long time.

“But we were going to lose that if people were waiting for me to come out with a statement.”

On a day of rain-soaked celebrations at Turf Moor, former NFL legend JJ Watt, who this week became a minority owner in the club, carried the Championship trophy onto the field for its presentation to Kompany and his players.

The win saw Burnley hit the century mark in points, their 101 the highest recorded by any team in the division since Leicester won the league with one more, in 2014.

And it summed up a dominant campaign for a Burnley team who lost just one of their final 26 games and were beaten only three times over the entire league campaign, winning promotion with seven games to spare.

“We faced doubt at the beginning of this season and it will be the same next season,” said Kompany.

“It’s for us to use that to rally around. It starts now. The goal for me next year is to make our fans proud and have a bit of fun in the Premier League.”

The final-day win was also a fitting send-off for veteran striker Ashley Barnes, after nearly a decade at Turf Moor.

He struck after 31 minutes when Josh Brownhill’s cross was met by Cardiff defender Mahlon Romeo who simply chested the ball into the path of Barnes to bury an excellent first-time finish.

The visitors, who ended the season five points above the relegation zone, also contributed to Burnley’s opening goal, four minutes earlier.

Defender Andy Rinomhota kept the ball in play, as he tried to dispossess Anass Zaroury, by pushing it into his area with his hands.

That enabled Zaroury to cross the ball for Brownhill to score from close range, despite Cardiff protests.

Scott Twine wrapped up the scoring on 58 minutes when he lodged a superbly-hit right-foot free-kick from the edge of the box into the Cardiff net.

Cardiff manager Sabri Lamouchi is set to meet club owner Vincent Tan to thrash out his and the club’s future direction.

“We saw the big gap between them and us,” he said. “It’s about small details; experience, quality. Everything is on the table and we just need to know what the club and the owner want to do.”

Burnley have rewarded manager Vincent Kompany with a new five-year deal.

The former Manchester City defender won promotion back to the Premier League in his first season in the dugout at Turf Moor, winning the Championship title in style.

He has been linked with a number of Premier League vacancies, including Chelsea and Tottenham, but has now committed his future to the Clarets until 2028.

The Belgian said: “Burnley and Turf Moor felt right pretty much from the start – so it also feels right to sign for the next five years.

“Together with the fans we have made Turf Moor a fortress again and continue to look forward to the future and the job of making Burnley better with every step.”

Kompany replaced Sean Dyche last summer following the club’s relegation to the Championship and has transformed their playing style, having cantered to the Championship title.

The Clarets can rack up 100 points – their highest ever tally in the club’s 140-year history – if they beat Cardiff in the final game of the season on Monday.

Chairman Alan Pace added: “We are ecstatic Vincent has signed a new deal.

“He is the perfect fit for how we all see Burnley Football Club moving forward.

“An extraordinary leader, setting ever higher standards and driving our club to the levels we all want to achieve.”

Kolo Toure believes working under Pep Guardiola was the perfect crash course in management for Vincent Kompany.

Former Manchester City captain Kompany has enjoyed a fine season in charge of Burnley, leading the Clarets straight back to the Premier League and the Championship title.

Kompany, 37, left City in 2019 to become player-manager of Anderlecht.

He joined Burnley last year, and his success at Turf Moor has seen him become one of the most highly coveted young managers, with Tottenham reportedly interested in taking him to north London.

Kompany's ex-City team-mate Toure, who endured a difficult, short spell as Wigan Athletic boss earlier in the 2022-23 campaign, always felt the Belgian would go onto big things in management.

"You could feel that [he would be a manager]," Toure told Stats Perform.

"Vincent has everything. He has the manager skill. I could see it already as a player. Even when he wasn't captain you could see he had a great relationship with players.

"A great relationship with the fans, a great relationship with the media, and a great relationship with the owners.

"He's always been somebody who is very intelligent, somebody who can connect with people very easily and speaks both languages really, really well. And he prepared himself very well."

Kompany played under Guardiola for three years of his 11-season stint at City, and Toure believes the Spaniard was the perfect teacher to learn from.

"I think for me what is the best thing that happened to him is to be able to play and be managed by Pep Guardiola because he learned from Pep, and Pep is an unbelievable manager," Toure said.

"What he's been learning under him is incredibly great in that's what he's showing really there. Of course, he has a little bit of detail that is putting on the way he wants this team to play. But when you look at his team, he is taking that from Pep Guardiola, definitely."

Toure's first foray into management was not quite as successful as Toure's endeavours; he lasted just 59 days in charge of Wigan.

He failed to win any of his nine games and left Wigan with the club sat bottom of the Championship. They were relegated on Saturday.

Toure, though, is keen to carry on in coaching.

"I would say that it was a great learning moment for me because, during my career as a player, I never experienced fighting for relegation. When the opportunity came, I took it because, for me, it was a great opportunity to start my managerial career," he explained.

"I wanted to challenge myself because you cannot wait for the perfect moment to get the perfect job. I wanted to do that job. I found players who are top guys, and I was my mission was to change the style of play and keep the team up.

"Unfortunately, it didn't work really because defensively we conceded so many goals, and attacking-wise we were dangerous, and we created chances but we never scored them.

"I learned, and you have to be honest, you try things with the level of players with the pressure that the players had, it wasn't easy for them. Next time I have another opportunity, I make sure to assess the situation even better, and just try to help the team win games by taking some of the pressure out of the players."

"I'm definitely looking for a job now," Toure added. "I'm more hungry than ever. I'm looking forward. I'm looking to get a new job. My passion for the game is there to push players to really win games and be the best that they can be."

Vincent Kompany insists he is happy at Burnley despite reports linking him with the vacant manager's role at Tottenham.

Kompany has guided Burnley to an immediate return to the Premier League in his first season in charge at Turf Moor, having arrived from Anderlecht at the end of the 2021-22 campaign after the Clarets were relegated from England's top-flight.

Burnley sit top of the Championship on 90 points from 40 games, and secured promotion with a 2-1 win at Middlesbrough last Friday.

Their form and impressive style of play – having scored 78 goals and conceded just 30 – has led to links with Premier League jobs, including Tottenham, who parted ways with Antonio Conte at the end of March.

Asked what he thought of such links, Kompany told reporters: "It is not at the forefront of my thoughts at all.

"Wherever I am, in my head, it is always the biggest job in the world."

He added: "What can I say? I'm not happy [at Burnley]? We are 14 points clear at the top of the Championship.

"A key part is I'm always happy, never satisfied."

Previously known for their direct style under Sean Dyche, no team has averaged as much possession in the Championship than Burnley's 64.3 per cent this season, showing the impact Kompany has had in a short space of time.

The former Manchester City captain has also been linked with taking charge at the Etihad Stadium in future, with City boss Pep Guardiola regularly championing him for the job once he leaves.

Cristian Stellini has been put in charge at Spurs until the end of the campaign, with the likes of Julian Nagelsmann, Graham Potter and Mauricio Pochettino also being linked with taking over ahead of next season.

Burnley boss Vincent Kompany has asked Pep Guardiola to stop talking him up as a future Manchester City manager while he is still in the early stages of his coaching career.

City legend Kompany, who won 10 majors honours during an 11-year spell at the Etihad Stadium, faces off against his former side in Saturday's FA Cup quarter-final tie.

It will be Kompany's first return to the ground, where a statue honouring his time at the club was erected in August 2021, in what is set to be an emotional reunion.

After two seasons coaching Anderlecht, Kompany has had huge success in his first season in charge of Burnley, who are cruising towards promotion from the Championship.

Guardiola reiterated on the eve of the game that he fully expects the 36-year-old to manage City one day, but Kompany says that is an unrealistic view at this point.

"He has got to stop saying it," Kompany said. "I'm a Championship manager. I don't know what you want from me. 

"I think [Guardiola] should stay for another 10 years at Manchester City first and foremost. 

"City are competing to win the Champions League; we are competing to win the Championship – I don't think these kinds of conversations make sense.

"They need to have the best manager in the world. I want to be extremely respectful to the club I manage as well. This club to me means everything. I want this club to get better."

Among other compliments, Guardiola praised Kompany – whom he worked with for three seasons – for instilling an "exceptional" style of play at Burnley so quickly.

Asked if Guardiola's comments are putting added pressure on his own managerial career, Kompany said: "Pressure is a thing of your own mind.

"I think if you play in big finals you are okay with pressure, but I try to be as rational as I can. 

"I am in an environment where the people I work with are rational enough to not make my job dependent on whether we beat Manchester City.

"I came to Burnley because I chose it for the people. It is an environment where I have a chance to learn and get better."

Burnley have not won away at City since the 1973 Charity Shield, drawing four and losing 12 of their 16 visits since then.

Vincent Kompany plans to keep his emotions in check when he returns to Manchester City on Saturday.

The Burnley manager faces off against his former employers in an FA Cup quarter-final at Etihad Stadium.

Kompany spent 11 seasons with City, winning four Premier League titles, two FA Cups and four League Cups, and is honoured with a statue that stands outside the stadium.

While it is certain to be an emotional reunion for the Belgium great, Kompany will not let it affect his preparations.

"It's the first time [going back] so it's obviously going to be different, but in terms of my mindset it's not different," he told a press conference.

"It's just to do my job, be prepared. The core message for us is [to] be prepared.

"I don't have a feeling I need to do anything other than give the one per cent extra to the team.

"I am extremely grateful for every moment I've been able to experience at Manchester City but I have to approach this game in the same way I approached every game at Manchester City, which is to do my job and live for that."

Burnley face a daunting task in their trip to the Etihad, with City firmly seen as the favourites to secure victory and book a semi-final date at Wembley.

Kompany is aware of the significant challenge that his side will encounter, having looked at the City's impressive record – winning 10 consecutive FA Cup games at home, scoring 41 goals and conceding just four.

However, Burnley may find inspiration by the fact that City's last FA Cup defeat at the Etihad came to Championship opposition; Middlesbrough in January 2015.

"They're trying to win the Champions League, we're trying to win the Championship," he added.

"All things considered, we don't have to put too much pressure on ourselves, but still have the desire to get something from the game.

"Sometimes in these types of games, the result is one thing and we all want to win, but many teams come to the Etihad and try to win. I shouldn't have, but I looked at the record of Championship teams going to the Etihad and it's not great.

"We've got to get something out of this game, hopefully a result, but there is so much more for us to get out of the game. The main focus is getting the best performance and then we'll see."

Pep Guardiola has not been surprised by the "exceptional" style instilled by Vincent Kompany at Burnley, as the Clarets boss prepares to return to Manchester City for an FA Cup quarter-final.

Kompany captained City to four Premier League titles as a player, the latter two coming in back-to-back campaigns under Guardiola in 2017-18 and 2018-19.

The former defender has enjoyed a spectacular first season as a coach in England, leading Burnley to a 13-point lead at the Championship summit and to the brink of an immediate Premier League return. 

Burnley lead their second-tier rivals for goals (74), average possession share (64.29 per cent) and passes in the opposition half (8,127) this season, with Kompany moving away from the direct approach associated with their latest spell in the top flight.

Kompany's side are unbeaten in 18 games since December's EFL Cup exit at Manchester United, and Guardiola is especially impressed by the way he has altered Burnley's style. 

"What I saw… I'm not really surprised at all by what they've done so far in the Championship, being so close to being a Premier League team for next year," Guardiola said on Friday.

"Seeing more closely what they do, I understand completely why they are there. They will be a really, really tough opponent, because they do incredible things on the pitch.

"A manager always needs time, but the big success they had as a team is to compete as soon as possible. They have a good team and the way they play is exceptional." 

Reflecting on his time working with Kompany at the Etihad Stadium, Guardiola revealed how the Belgian helped him navigate a difficult first Premier League campaign in 2016-17.

"He's one of the biggest legends I had, and personally, it was a pity that he was injured for a lot of the time we were together," Guardiola said of Kompany. 

"The important thing was how he helped me from day one. I arrived here from another country, I didn't know the Premier League, and his contribution in the locker room in the bad moments, how he helped us to take a step forward… he was an exceptional captain, a top human being.

"I'm a little bit concerned because when you start to play a game and on the touchline there's a player that you had, you realise how old you are becoming!"

After the FA Cup's last-eight draw took place earlier this month, Guardiola claimed Kompany was destined to coach City later in his career, a view he reiterated on Friday.

"Maybe he doesn't agree with me, but after seeing his teams, I'm more than convinced he's going to come back," Guardiola said. "When? I don't know, but it's going to happen."

City have reached the FA Cup semi-finals in five of their six previous seasons under Guardiola, only falling short in 2017-18. If they progress on Saturday, they will become just the third team to reach the last four in five consecutive campaigns, after Manchester United (1961-62 to 1965-66) and Arsenal (2000-01-2004-05).