Vincent Kompany accepts Burnley are approaching ‘must-win’ territory as they bid to stay in the Premier League.
The Clarets head into Saturday’s home game with Brighton in 19th place, six points adrift of safety with just six games remaining.
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It’s looking bleak for last season’s Championship title-winners but Kompany doesn’t think their situation has necessarily changed over the past few months.
He said: “We’ve been in that position for a while now. But the energy we’ve had in games, the drama – we’ve been living that and not had the rewards for it.
“I expect nothing different from the next six games. It’s a very simple target: win the next game, always.
“I know it’s cliché but it’s as vital now when you’re fighting for survival and it’s vital for when you are winning the Championship. It is a difficult mentality to maintain but it’s how I am wired as a person anyway.
“I wouldn’t say [we need] a miracle. We just need wins, we need points.
“We are not necessarily able to look forward to any game and pick and choose any game. They are all very tough for us but every game offers an opportunity. But at the same time we don’t look at any game and think we can’t win it.”
Last Saturday’s defeat at fellow strugglers Everton was Burnley’s first in five games, although three of those results were draws.
Kompany added: “It has been the case for a lot of the season really. It has been very fine margins, on many times, and that’s been the case for a lot of the other clubs. We are in games, the games are close, but it comes down to one moment.
“At the beginning, and I’m talking early doors, we struggled to adapt quickly, but for a while now we’ve been in the game.”
Kompany will watch Saturday’s game from the stands having been handed a two-game touchline ban – one of which is suspended – following his red card at Chelsea recently.
And he knows that won’t be helpful against a Brighton side that continue to impress under Roberto De Zerbi.
Kompany added: “They are a unique opposition in the sense that, without necessarily being classed as a ‘big six’ team, they have managed to establish themselves with all the habits of the top team.
“They force other teams to adapt to them and they have demanded that even from teams above them, and that is exceptional. So it doesn’t matter who plays them, you have always got to adapt your game to play against Brighton. It’s something pretty special that they have done.
“We were like that in the Championship last year. It took them a while to do that but, within about five or six years, they have demanded that and it’s very impressive.”
