Vincent Kompany has welcomed referee Rebecca Welch’s “milestone” appointment and insists his Burnley players will not modify their behaviour when she takes charge of their game with Fulham.

Welch will break new ground once again at Craven Cottage on Saturday, the 40-year-old from Tyne and Wear having in November become the first female to act as fourth official in a Premier League match.

“It’s certainly a benchmark and milestone,” Burnley boss Kompany said of Welch’s top-flight bow in the middle.

“I think she’ll take great pride in having done it herself. There’s a lot of women – in general, but in the game as well specifically – who will see this as a way to achieve at the highest level.

“I am always pro any kind of extension anyway because what it does is widen the pool of talent.

“We need access to all the available talent, the best referees in the best league in the world.”

Kompany insists the attitude of his players will be the same at Fulham as if a male referee was in the middle.

He said: “I wouldn’t allow it (be different) anyway, but in general it shouldn’t. Whether that’s a good thing or not, I don’t know.

“But in the end we want to win our games, the opposition want to win their games, and it’s about the players on the pitch.

“It shouldn’t be really about the official or the manager. It should be about the players and, in that sense, I can’t see why we wouldn’t have that normality.

“Of course the story is bigger and deserves to be bigger, but once the whistle blows every actor on the day will want the players to be highlighted.”

There is another landmark refereeing appointment on Boxing Day as Sam Allison will become the first black man to officiate a top-flight game in 15 years.

Allison will take charge of Sheffield United’s home game against Luton, following in the footsteps of Uriah Rennie who was the last black referee to take charge of a Premier League game in 2008.

Asked if it was a sign of changing times in football, Kompany said: “I think so. They are little milestones, but what you have to look at is not necessarily the person itself.

“Behind it there is a lot of people who don’t think it’s possible and that they can’t achieve it. By seeing those examples they will say ‘I could be the next one or do something positive’.

“To give access to opportunities with dreams is important at every level of society.

“What I would love to see is multi-coloured and multi-ethnic boardrooms that make decisions about what we’re going to discuss during the week.”

Sean Dyche enjoyed a standing ovation on his return to Burnley before his in-form Everton side silenced Turf Moor with a 2-0 win which increases the Clarets’ relegation worries at the foot of the Premier League table.

Dyche was back at the ground where he spent the best part of 10 years in charge, twice earning promotion and keeping Burnley in the top flight against the odds before being sacked in April 2022 towards the end of their last, ultimately unsuccessful, battle against the drop.

His Everton side are not that far from the current relegation fight but only as a result of a 10-point penalty for breaching financial rules, and first-half goals from Amadou Onana and Michael Keane made it four straight wins. They may sit 16th, but would be ninth without the penalty.

Keane’s 25th minute goal was his first of the season on his first appearance since October 21. Alongside him was Ben Godfrey, making his first league start of the season in a side hastily reshuffled following late withdrawals.

“I was delighted,” Dyche said. “We’re a side pieced together yesterday morning. We lost Myko (Vitaliy Mykolenko) with a tight groin and because we’ve got injuries and suspensions we can’t risk players so we had to change everything in a morning.

“Their acceptance to go and deliver a performance that can win was very pleasing.”

While Vincent Kompany used his programme notes to welcome Dyche back to Turf Moor, it was notable that the man who sacked him, chairman Alan Pace, did not mention Dyche in his own. But Dyche said he had no issues with his old boss, and he was grateful for the reception he got.

“I saw Alan Pace this morning, in the hotel where we were staying, and said hello,” said Dyche. “Football is a weird business, I didn’t throw my dummy out, I’ve done my bit, done my years at Burnley and I shook his hand and said have a nice season, crack on.

“I met Vinny at the end of last season and told him how impressed I was with his work. Said how he hadn’t lost the fabric of it but changed it to his own liking. We can all moan about everyone and everything but people have a lot on their plate. I just try and take care of mine and get on with it.”

For Burnley it was another damaging defeat that leaves them off the bottom of the table on goal difference alone, with only eight points from 17 games.

Kompany’s side played well before falling behind and improved in the second half but rarely threatened Jordan Pickford’s goal.

“We’ve been done on two set plays,” Kompany said. “There’s not too much to say about the overall defending and attacking play. It was more about both boxes today.”

The big positive for Burnley was the return of Lyle Foster, who was back among the substitutes after a period away dealing with mental health issues, and started the second half for his first appearance since October.

“It was a surprise to us,” Kompany said. “We hadn’t expected that he would be able to return but it was the opinion of the experts that keeping him in his natural environment, football is part of his life, is something he needs to do to be happy.

“Forty-five minutes was roughly what he was able to do physically and the second half showed how much of an impact he can have. But it’s important to say this is part of his process of getting back.”

Sean Dyche deepened the relegation worries of his old club Burnley as his return to Turf Moor ended in a 2-0 win for Everton.

Dyche, who twice guided the Clarets to promotion and kept them up against the odds during a decade at the club, promised to show no sentimentality 20 months after his sacking amid their last, unsuccessful, battle against the drop, and first-half goals from Amadou Onana and Michael Keane silenced Turf Moor.

They proved all Everton needed as they won four league games in a row for the first time in three years, their eighth league win of the season already matching last year’s tally as they continue to climb away from trouble. Without their 10-point penalty, Everton would be up to ninth.

Burnley chairman Alan Pace, the man who sacked Dyche in April 2022, failed to welcome Dyche back in his programme notes but the one-time ‘Ginger Mourinho’ is still loved in Burnley, where the Royal Dyche pub proudly bares his name, and he emerged from the tunnel to a standing ovation from all sides.

Vincent Kompany, who brought Burnley back to the Premier League with a 101-point campaign in the Championship, has rebuilt the club in a different image. Having taken four points from their last three games to match the return from the previous 13, Burnley started well, keeping Everton pegged back.

But the results they desperately need are not there to match, and although Dwight McNeil, one of three former Burnley players in the Everton 11, spurned a glorious chance Everton needed only 19 minutes to take the lead.

James Trafford did well to keep out Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s close-range header but Burnley failed to defend the resulting corner and it was all too easy for Onana to get away from Josh Brownhill and power in at the far post.

Jacob Bruun Larsen and Jay Rodriguez both saw shots blocked in the Everton box, and six minutes later it was 2-0 to the visitors.

Jordan Pickford hit a long free-kick forward and James Tarkowski headed it down for another former Claret, Keane, to try his luck from range. Trafford parried, but the ball struck Dara O’Shea and fell kindly for Keane, in for the suspended Jarrad Branthwaite, to sweep home his first goal of the season.

Burnley’s early promise dissipated in a silent Turf Moor. They did threaten again just before half-time but Ben Godfrey, making only his second Premier League appearance of the season, got a vital toe to Vitinho’s cross before Zeki Amdouni.

At half-time Kompany turned to Lyle Foster, the South Africa forward surprisingly named among the substitutes after a recent absence to deal with mental health issues. The 23-year-old replaced Rodriguez to make his first appearance since October 21.

Burnley were better after the break, but only managed to create half-chances. Sander Berge had an early shot blocked before Foster failed to get enough power on his effort.

After Trafford failed to clear a corner and Keane had a close-range shot blocked on the line, Amdouni offered a more direct threat at the other end when he eyed up Pickford’s far post from 25 yards out, forcing the England goalkeeper to stretch and push it wide.

Berge rattled the crossbar in the 79th minute, though his shot from the edge of the box would not have counted with the flag up.

It was that old familiar story for Burnley, who dominated possession and had 14 shots at goal but ended the day empty-handed, stuck on eight points from 17 games and off the bottom of the table on goal difference alone. Boos greeted the final whistle.

Rebecca Welch is not the first footballer to have told a referee just how they should do their job – but a decade later, it is her own decisions which are now set to be front and centre in the Premier League.

On December 23, Welch will break new ground once again when she takes charge of Fulham against Burnley at Craven Cottage.

Yet but for taking one of her friends to task, Welch, 40, might never have given refereeing a go herself.

“I played football and didn’t even think about refereeing until one of my really good friends, who is a referee, refereed us,” she said in an interview with the Independent in November ahead of becoming the first female to act as fourth official in a Premier League match for Fulham against Manchester United.

“I spent the whole game telling her how to do her job! Her response was, ‘If you think it’s that easy, give it a go’. That’s how it happened and 10 years later, here I am.”

Welch’s love of the game stemmed from playing, but it was with the whistle where she made her mark.

At the start of her refereeing career in 2010, Welch, who is from Washington in Tyne and Wear, was still working in an administrative capacity for the NHS.

After gaining her badges through the Durham County Football Association, Welch began taking charge of university games as well as in Sunday leagues.

It was, though, not long before she took it up on a full-time basis and soon climbed through the ranks.

Welch has regularly refereed high-profile games in the Women’s Super League and took charge of the 2017 and 2020 Women’s FA Cup finals at Wembley.

She has also officiated in the Women’s Champions League, the latest fixture being Benfica’s 1-0 win over Frankfurt on December 13.

Added to FIFA’s elite list of international officials during December 2020, Welch was part of the team at the 2022 Women’s Euros as well as this year’s Women’s World Cup, which included refereeing hosts Australia in their last-16 win over Denmark.

Welch is also no stranger to firsts in the men’s game.

In 2021, she was the first woman to be appointed to referee a match in the Football League for the Sky Bet League Two fixture between Harrogate and Port Vale.

Walsh later took on matches in the Championship – she was in charge of Hull’s 4-1 win over Rotherham on November 28 – and also the third round of the FA Cup.

Despite Welch now set to find herself in the spotlight, with every decision under the microscope at Craven Cottage on December 23, she is not about to let anything distract her from just getting on with the job, according to referee’s chief Howard Webb.

“Rebecca is a really calm, focused individual on the field. She does command a lot of respect in a pretty understated way. When you meet her, she’s got a presence about her,” Webb said.

“She has a good reading of the game, she is an accurate decision maker, a good athlete on the field too and has really worked hard to get to this position over several years.

“She has good reading of the game, good subtle management of the players as well and I have got no doubt she will show all of those qualities at Fulham on the 23rd.”

Rebecca Welch will become the first female referee in the Premier League when she takes charge of Fulham against Burnley on December 23.

Welch became a referee in 2010, balancing the role alongside her job in the NHS.

In 2021, she was the first woman to be appointed to referee a match in the Football League for the Sky Bet League Two fixture between Harrogate and Port Vale.

Welch, who comes from Washington in Tyne and Wear, was also the first woman to referee matches in the Championship and third round of the FA Cup.

Last month she became the first female to act as fourth official in a Premier League game as part of the officiating team for Fulham against Manchester United.

During her career, Welch has also officiated high-profile matches in the Women’s Super League, twice refereeing the Women’s FA Cup final and she has also taken charge of international matches, including at the 2023 Women’s World Cup.

Vincent Kompany said Burnley will need more outstanding individual performances in order to survive in the Premier League after goalkeeper James Trafford put in a superb display in his team’s 1-1 draw against Brighton at the Amex Stadium.

The visitors took the lead against the run of play courtesy of a brilliant strike from Wilson Odobert, taking advantage as three Brighton players stood off him and unleashing a wicked drive that nicked off James Milner and flew over goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen into the top corner.

At that stage, Trafford had already saved well from Milner and Pascal Gross, and he continued to repel the home side’s attempts to claw the game back, racing from his goal to keep out Simon Adingra with a sprawling block in the second half.

Burnley were finally breached when Adingra nodded in a cross from the excellent Gross minutes later, but Trafford would save his best until last, first showing outstanding reflexes to beat away a header from substitute Jack Hinshelwood in stoppage time before flinging himself towards the top corner to somehow fingertip Karou Mitoma’s volley over the bar.

“The game demanded it at the end,” said Kompany. “You don’t come to these places and get a result without moments like this.

“It’s in the bank for him (Trafford), in terms of having come through this. He needs to keep working on becoming the best he can be. We’re very fortunate to have two very good goalkeepers.

“His season has been no different to everyone else in the team. He’s improved throughout the season, shown good signs. He’s been more and more consistent and ultimately at this level consistency is the key word.

“We have more and more players who perform at a consistent level. In games like today, without someone having an outstanding performance, you never get results.”

Burnley were seeking just their second away win of the season but despite defending bravely after taking the lead they were left to rue more dropped points on the road, though the gap to Everton in 17th place has been cut to two points.

“We’re not at a level yet where we can compete every week with teams like Brighton on an equal level,” said Kompany.

“There’s a tremendous belief in me that the club is going in the right direction.

“Our biggest, unique strength is it’s an elite club in terms of the attitude, the standard and the habits. I would put us against anybody. The amount of belief and resilience we’ve got. It’s a special club that really lives.

“It’s not for no reason that after such a tough start, you still see progression, you still see people getting better. That won’t stop.”

Brighton boss Roberto De Zerbi reflected that there is still a way to go before his side can consider themselves amongst the league’s top bracket.

“I consider my team a very good team, I have big, big confidence,” he said.

“There isn’t anyone more than me who believes in my players. But we are not a top team yet, because a top team wins today, against Sheffield (United) and against Fulham (both games finished 1-1 at the Amex).

“Winning these three games, we would be third in the table. These three games, we played very well, and we deserved to win.

“Why didn’t we win these three games? Maybe because we are not a top team yet. Maybe the coach of Brighton is not a top, top coach yet.”

Brighton were frustrated by a superb performance from Burnley goalkeeper James Trafford as they played out an entertaining 1-1 draw at the Amex Stadium.

Simon Adingra headed in from Pascal Gross’ cross in the 77th minute to deny Vincent Kompany’s side, who had looked set to claim a second away win of the season courtesy of Wilson Odobert’s sensational solo effort at the end of the first half.

Odobert’s strike had rocketed beyond Bart Verbruggen in the Brighton goal against the run of play to stun home fans, but after Roberto De Zerbi’s team had drawn level late on, they bombarded the Burnley goal, only to find Trafford in the form of his life to keep out first Kaoru Mitoma then Jack Hinshelwood at the death.

Brighton dominated the ball for the opening 10 minutes but they conceded the game’s first chance to Burnley, Sander Berge driving forward and passing to the feet of Johann Berg Gudmundsson who turned and curled wide with his left foot from just inside the box.

The hosts grew only slowly as an attacking threat. Charlie Taylor stretched well to hook Joao Pedro’s far-post cross away from the foot of Adingra, who would have had a tap-in, before Gross headed up and onto the roof of the goal from James Milner’s inviting delivery.

Minutes later, Gross spurned the clearest chance of the opening half-hour when, after being set up on the right by good play between Pedro and Adingra, he shot low to the near post instead of aiming across goal, Trafford turning it aside well with a strong left boot.

By now De Zerbi’s side were comfortably on top. Trafford made another save this time down to his right from Milner’s driven effort, before Jan Paul van Hecke wasted a golden opportunity, thumping a free header wide following a superbly flighted cross from Adingra.

Burnley were stretched, struggling to contain Brighton’s speed of passing and movement in between their lines, and Mahmoud Dahoud almost made them pay in spectacular fashion, his thunderous effort whistling inches over from 20 yards.

The goal then came completely against the run of play and owed everything to the brilliance of Odobert.

There seemed to be little on when the 19-year-old collected the ball on the left just outside the box in the final minute of the half. Three Brighton players stood off him, providing Odobert all the encouragement he needed, and with a stunning right-footed drive that nicked off Milner and looped over Verbruggen he gave the visitors the lead.

Brighton had won only twice in the league since September and that patchy form looked like persisting. De Zerbi sent on Mitoma and Billy Gilmour at the break to try and tip the game in his side’s favour.

Instead it was Burnley who almost extended their lead and it was Odobert again the threat, drawing a brave low stop from Verbruggen, with Jay Rodriguez foiled by the goalkeeper from the follow-up.

By the hour mark, Kompany’s side had dropped considerably deeper than during the first half, and Brighton were dominating again.

Mitoma swept a bending shot over the bar with his instep, Evan Ferguson put a free header wide from Van Hecke’s cross, and the Amex grew increasingly anxious as the prospect of a second defeat in three league games loomed.

The chances came more freely. Gross found Adingra in an acre of space at the far post, Trafford excelling yet again, racing from goal to deny him with a sprawling block.

Then finally came the equaliser Brighton had deserved, and it was the excellent Gross that made it. Aaron Ramsey tried to stand up the Germany international on the edge of the box, but checking back onto his right foot he crossed for Adingra who made amends for his earlier miss with a header into the corner.

Substitute Hinshelwood’s header was brilliantly pushed behind by Trafford in stoppage time.

Burnley’s goalkeeper had been outstanding, and he saved his very best until last, fingertipping over from Mitoma’s right-foot bullet in the dying seconds.

Burnley boss Vincent Kompany is not surprised by James Milner’s longevity and said his old team-mate is perhaps the hardest-working player he has ever known.

Kompany will come up against Milner on Saturday when the Clarets head south to take on Brighton, the club Milner joined in the summer after eight years at Liverpool.

The 37-year-old has made 13 appearances for the Seagulls despite some injury niggles, lending his wealth of experience as Roberto De Zerbi’s squad balances the demands of European football with their domestic duties for the first time.

“He’s older than me!” joked Kompany, who is three months Milner’s junior. “I’m not surprised and if there’s one guy that was going to do that it was going to be Milly. His longevity – it’s because he’s probably the hardest working player I’ve ever played with.

“I’ve seen his journey from being this winger, attacking midfielder, central midfielder, full-back. And every single time people would have bet against him. But if you know him and his personality, you would never bet a penny against him…

“There might have been loads of players who are better than James, but how many have had his career? Very, very few.”

Milner’s medal collection includes a Champions League crown with Liverpool and three Premier League titles. He won two of those alongside Kompany at City before joining Liverpool on a free transfer in 2015.

That exit left a sour taste among many in the blue half of Manchester, but not Kompany.

“You always want your best players to stay but for his career it was a great move,” he said. “I’ve always wanted him to do well.”

Saturday’s trip to the Amex Stadium will bring back happy memories for Kompany, who lifted the Premier League trophy there in 2019 in his final game in English football.

“It feels like a lifetime ago, the job I’m in consumes you that much,” he said. “But, yeah, it was four-and-a-half years ago – it feels like it was 20 years ago.

“I’d be rubbish if I was in that profession now. But they are good memories and maybe in the future – maybe one Christmas – those moments can be replayed with the kids.”

City won 4-1 that day to pip Liverpool – and Milner – to the title by one point with a run of 14 straight victories, perhaps fortunate to come across a Brighton side who had only ensured their own top-flight survival the weekend before when Cardiff lost to Crystal Palace.

But the club Burnley will face on Saturday have come a long, long way since then, and are seen by many as the model club for anyone wanting to challenge the Premier League’s top sides.

Kompany pointed out Burnley were a model themselves for a long time, having held their own in the top flight for seven years despite limited resources, and said it was not as simple as trying to copy what someone has done.

“If this is a path, then I don’t think we should compare ourselves to them, absolutely not,” he said.

“We’re at a completely different stage, but there is a template that’s taken time for them to develop and that’s obviously allowing them to compete above their means.

“That should be a goal for any team in this league.”

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.”

Gary O’Neil hailed match-winner Hwang Hee-chan after Wolves edged out Burnley.

The striker’s first-half goal – his ninth of the season – condemned the Clarets to a 1-0 defeat at Molineux on Tuesday evening.

Wolves moved 11 points clear of the Premier League’s relegation zone with South Korea international Hwang earning praise from the boss.

“The numbers are incredibly impressive,” Boss O’Neil said. “Everything about him is impressive, will he continue at this rate for the rest of the season? I hope so. If the team can keep performing.

“When the ball falls to him in the penalty area I have a really good feeling he will be in the right area.

“It’s no fluke he has as many goals as he has, he’s bought in fully to what we’re trying to do. He arrives in good areas time and time again.

“It was a massive win for us. They are a good side, maybe it’s disrespectful to say ‘job done’ because they won the Championship by a long way last season, were the sixth or seventh biggest spenders in the summer. They have every right to be competitive, I’m really pleased as it’s a big win.”

Pablo Sarabia twice went close before Dan Bentley saved from Sander Berge and Josh Brownhill.

But Burnley shot themselves in the foot three minutes before the break to gift Wolves a winner.

James Trafford and Dara O’Shea played out of the back to find Berge, but the midfielder’s heavy touch allowed Sarabia to steal in and find Matheus Cunha.

He then picked out the unmarked Hwang who beat Trafford with a low finish for his ninth goal of the season.

From then Burnley struggled to create, with Bentley never troubled, as Wolves earned a first clean sheet since August and are now five unbeaten at home.

Burnley remain in the drop zone after a 12th defeat in 15 games and are three points from the safety line having beaten Sheffield United 5-0 on Saturday, but failed to follow it up.

Boss Vincent Kompany said: “It’s decided in moments, we had ours, didn’t take them and in one of the few chances we conceded, we concede a goal.

“I looked at it quickly but we’ll have to do an analysis. If something went wrong it wasn’t just decided by this one moment, we can look at ourselves and say we should have scored.

“We have been in games for quite some time now, we have to believe this will give us the results.

“We play against teams with quality, we have to stay in positions where we can get results and today was close. This is where we need to step it up.”

Gary O’Neil hailed match-winner Hwang Hee-chan after Wolves edged out Burnley.

The striker’s first-half goal – his ninth of the season – condemned the Clarets to a 1-0 defeat at Molineux on Tuesday evening.

Wolves moved 11 points clear of the Premier League’s relegation zone with South Korea international Hwang earning praise from the boss.

“The numbers are incredibly impressive,” Boss O’Neil said. “Everything about him is impressive, will he continue at this rate for the rest of the season? I hope so. If the team can keep performing.

“When the ball falls to him in the penalty area I have a really good feeling he will be in the right area.

“It’s no fluke he has as many goals as he has, he’s bought in fully to what we’re trying to do. He arrives in good areas time and time again, keeps going and eight (league) goals is a really impressive return.

“It was a massive win for us. They are a good side, maybe it’s disrespectful to say ‘job done’ because they won the Championship by a long way last season, were the sixth or seventh biggest spenders in the summer. They have every right to be competitive, I’m really pleased as it’s a big win.”

Pablo Sarabia twice went close before Dan Bentley saved from Sander Berge and Josh Brownhill.

But Burnley shot themselves in the foot three minutes before the break to gift Wolves a winner.

James Trafford and Dara O’Shea played out of the back to find Berge, but the midfielder’s heavy touch allowed Sarabia to steal in and find Matheus Cunha.

He then picked out the unmarked Hwang who beat Trafford with a low finish for his ninth goal of the season.

From then Burnley struggled to create, with Bentley never troubled, as Wolves earned a first clean sheet since August and are now five unbeaten at home.

Burnley remain in the drop zone after a 12th defeat in 15 games and are three points from the safety line having beaten Sheffield United 5-0 on Saturday, but failed to follow it up.

Boss Vincent Kompany said: “It’s decided in moments, we had ours, didn’t take them and in one of the few chances we conceded, we concede a goal.

“I looked at it quickly but we’ll have to do an analysis. If something went wrong it wasn’t just decided by this one moment, we can look at ourselves and say we should have scored.

“We have been in games for quite some time now, we have to believe this will give us the results.

“We play against teams with quality, we have to stay in positions where we can get results and today was close. This is where we need to step it up.”

Hwang Hee-chan fired Wolves to a narrow win over struggling Burnley.

The forward’s ninth goal of the season earned the hosts a 1-0 victory at Molineux.

Dan Bentley denied Josh Brownhill and Sander Berge in the first half, but the Clarets remain second bottom while Wolves – who recorded a first clean sheet since August – climb to 12th, 11 points above the relegation zone.

Fresh from their 5-0 thumping of Sheffield United, which ended a seven-game losing run, the Clarets looked to control the game.

But it was Pablo Sarabia who had the first real chance when his deflected strike was tipped over by James Trafford before the midfielder volleyed over.

All of Wolves’ home games this term had come against the top eight – which had seen them beat Manchester City and Tottenham – but against relegation-threatened Burnley there was added expectation.

Yet they struggled to find their fluid best as the visitors bossed first-half possession with Zeki Amdouni testing Bentley from distance.

With growing momentum, the visitors found further confidence and Jacob Bruun Larsen fired over before Bentley bailed Wolves out six minutes before the break.

Joao Gomes lost out to Amdouni and Johann Gudmundsson as he tried to see the ball behind with the latter crossing to Berge.

His shot was blocked by Bentley and the goalkeeper then produced a better save to turn Brownhill’s volleyed follow up wide.

But, despite Burnley’s pressing, the soft centre which has now seen them lose 12 of their 15 games cost them again after 42 minutes.

It was sloppy as Trafford and Dara O’Shea played out from the back before Berge’s heavy touch allowed Sarabia to nip in and find Matheus Cunha.

The striker picked out the unmarked Hwang in the area who kept his composure to roll past Trafford.

Kompany’s men only had themselves to blame and could have fallen further behind when Mario Lemina nodded over two minutes into the second half.

The dynamic had shifted and it was now Wolves in the ascendancy with Trafford palming Sarabia’s free-kick away just after the hour.

Burnley were blunt and hardly tested Bentley, although Vitinho drove over from the edge of the box with 13 minutes left, but with their fading threat went their chances of recovery.

Under-fire Sheffield United boss Paul Heckingbottom insisted he could hold his head up high after a number of fans turned on him following his side’s 5-0 capitulation away to fellow strugglers Burnley.

The odds on Heckingbottom becoming the first Premier League manager to lose his job this season tumbled after a humbling defeat, in which a Burnley side who started the day bottom of the table scored an opener through Jay Rodriguez just 15 seconds in and recorded their biggest top-flight win since 1970.

Jacob Bruun Larsen doubled the lead and, with the Blades reduced to 10 men when Oli McBurnie was sent off before half-time, they crumbled in the second half with Zeki Amdouni, Luca Koleosho and Josh Brownhill helping Burnley end their wait for a home league win this season at the eighth attempt.

United never looked in the game, and fans made their feelings known at the final whistle.

“I bet they’re nearly as angry as me,” Heckingbottom said.

“I’ve had this now since the beginning of September. But the one thing I can say is I can walk out of this stadium with my head held high.

“I know how hard I work for everyone at the club. I won’t change, I’ll make sure the staff do the same. And we continue to give everything we’ve got with what we’ve got. That won’t change. But, as I said the first time I was asked this, you’re asking the wrong person (about his future)…

“Of course if fans start changing, it changes the dynamic. It doesn’t change how I feel or my job. I just said to the players in there, I can walk out with my head held high but you can’t kid people.

“The fans are right to shout, say that wasn’t good enough. I was almost singing along with them at one point.”

Given Burnley were two goals to the good at the time with United barely laying a glove on them, McBurnie’s red card in the first minute of stoppage time was hardly a turning point, but the Scot’s two yellow cards in the space of 10 minutes killed off any hope of a comeback.

“He’s let me down,” Heckingbottom said. “He knows he has.”

Burnley’s first home win and first clean sheet of the season lifted them off the foot of the table, and relieved some of the tension that has been building around Turf Moor.

“I think we were so desperate to do it,” Kompany said. “We felt against (Crystal) Palace was good, against West Ham was good. You don’t know when it’s coming but I felt we always believed it was coming so for us hopefully it’s a starting point.

“The performance today was really good but you have to turn it into results. I just hope with the goals they’ve scored today and the fact we had a lot of goalscorers as well, that’s an important sign with Lyle Foster still not being there. Hopefully of the consistency of doing that will remain.”

Both of Burnley’s wins to date have come against sides they were promoted with during the summer. The challenge of taking points of established Premier League sides remains, starting away to Wolves on Tuesday night.

“I’ll have a glass of red wine tonight and then back on to Wolves, it’s coming on Tuesday,” Kompany said. “When we win there’s only three days to enjoy it. But we go again. It’s the same recipe really.

“I see the boys making progress, they work as hard as the top teams in the league. They don’t get the rewards for it at the moment but now we live towards the Wolverhampton game.”

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.”