Vincent Kompany insists the pressure is off Burnley heading into Saturday’s must-win Premier League match at Tottenham.
Burnley’s survival hopes will be over if they take anything less than three points in North London, and even then they could still find themselves relegated later in the day if Nottingham Forest beat Chelsea.
Sitting five points from safety with two games left to play, the odds are firmly stacked against the Clarets.
“I wouldn’t describe this game as a high pressure game for us,” Kompany said. “I don’t think we have anything to lose.
“If you go into this weekend protecting a two-point lead I can see how that’s a different mindset. Perhaps I’d be trying to convince myself if I was saying there is no pressure at that moment, but in this case I genuinely believe it’s all opportunity for us.”
Tottenham have lost four in a row in the league, a run that has all but ended their top-four aspirations.
If Burnley can find a way to make that five and close the gap to two points this weekend, their fate would be back in their own hands as Forest visit Turf Moor on the final day of the season.
“I don’t want to think about the Forest game right now,” Kompany added. “I think (Spurs) is our last game and I think that if we give ourselves a final versus Forest, that’s a final.
“This is our last game of the regular season, and anything can happen on the final day of the season as you know.”
Burnley’s survival hopes were dealt a huge blow last weekend with a 4-1 home defeat to Newcastle coupled with Forest’s win over Sheffield United.
After a run of encouraging results had put the Clarets within touching distance of safety – they have not been out of the bottom three all season – it was a frustrating defeat. But Kompany says it has not been difficult to lift the mood within his squad.
He added: “Obviously after the game things can go through your mind, but you draw back on experiences in football and you start thinking, ‘what are the scenarios?’
“If it happened that Forest was not our last game of the season, I think it would be totally unlikely, but just the fact it is our last game you start looking at what is happening this weekend.
“Forest have lost games before this season. They’re a good team but they have lost games like every team in the Premier League. Luton have done exceptional but they have lost games as well this season, so there is no guarantee this weekend of who is going to win and who is going to lose.
“It brings me back to our game, we go away to Spurs, it’s a tough opponent, they have the players and there’s a reason why they are where they are in the league.
“But again it’s football and before you know it, you’re filled with confidence again. You’re filled with something that gets you through the door.”
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