Vincent Kompany appears to have ruled out putting some of Burnley’s young players, who are now lacking confidence, out of the spotlight amid the club’s current troubles.
The Clarets sit 19th in the table, 11 points from safety, and have gone eight games without a win.
Performances have deteriorated dramatically in recent weeks, with a 5-0 loss to Arsenal followed by a 3-0 setback against Crystal Palace.
James Trafford, Wilson Odobert, and Zeki Amdouni, aged 21, 19, and 23, have all endured dips in form at various points during the season but have continued to start games on a regular basis.
It has led to speculation that certain players may profit from the opportunity to slip out of the squad before regaining their spot later in the season.
However, Kompany believes that these players would gain from these difficult circumstances in the long run.
When asked if he may consider dropping some of the young players from his starting lineup, Kompany replied: “No, I try not to focus too much on the individual aspect at this time.”
“I play with a team that hopefully offers us the best opportunity of winning, but you can’t avoid these times; you have to get through them.
“Sometimes it takes a season, sometimes only a couple of games, but you learn from it. To benefit from it, you must first be exposed to it.
“If you fast-forward for a couple of guys, I believe this stage in their careers will be quite valuable.
“But my focus now is who are the guys who are able to run and fight and hopefully get us points on Sunday.”
The mood among the players was naturally poor following last week’s defeat at Selhurst Park, but Kompany insists his team is eager to get things right as soon as possible.
“Obviously in the aftermath of a game you lose, especially with the importance it had, for the next 24 hours it’s not good,” he went on to say.
“But after that it’s back to work, back to looking at this game and everything this game can offer for us.”
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