BRUUN LARSEN BELIEVES CLARETS ARE GETTING BETTER EVERY GAME

Winger on improving under Kompany & what he expects from Luton

The Clarets’ Emirates FA Cup run came to an end against Tottenham Hotspur last Friday, however winger Bruun Larsen said there were many positives to take from the team’s performance.

“Tottenham are a good team, a very, very good team, very good players. I thought the boys and the team did well. Hats off to the goal they scored, it’s a worldclass finish and you can’t really prepare for any goals like that, you just have to give the credit to the opponent in that case.

“I felt that we created the chances that we needed, especially in an away game at Tottenham, so that we could score. But we didn’t do that, so we need to sharpen up in terms of the last bit on the field.

“For 83 minutes we drew against a top team in England, maybe also in Europe. I know they didn’t have the best players that they have on the pitch, but they still have a quality team. So yes, we have to take the positives from that. I think we did well defensively, we’re not going to play against these teams and not let any chance go through but as a unit we defended well, structured, so in terms of that it was a good performance I would say.”

Manager Vincent Kompany has spoken about how proud he is of his team for their work ethic and recent displays, despite not picking up the three points come 90 minutes, and the 25-year-old is in agreement that improvement is being shown each game.

“I can definitely see a team that the defence is all together and if you compare it to the beginning of the season. But in the end, in general, it’s about winning, getting points.

“We have taken a massive step towards being collective as a team, now we just need that small percentage, so we score in the chances that we get, we keep defending how we do because I think that is something that we have to carry on, that’s the basics. It’s not easy but we’ve done that for a couple of games now and that’s very, very positive. The offensive things will come, I’m 100% sure, it’s a matter of repetitions and believing in everything that we do and grab the moment when it’s there. We’ve done it before; we’ve shown it against good teams as well.”

It’s against Friday night’s opponent Luton Town that Bruun Larsen and the squad will be aiming to continue this show of improvement. With both newly promoted team’s finding themselves in similar positions in the table, does this add a different edge to the game?

“Our mindset is the same as always but obviously it’s a game where you want to win, like any other game, but this may have a little bit more – I won’t say it – because it is kind of how it feels, that it means a little bit more. Even though it’s the same three points against them that it is against another team in the league.

“They are also where we are in the league, so it would be important for us to get the three points. Especially because we won against them in the last game away, and now, we play on our turf. So, I think that you’ll definitely see a team that’s going full out at Friday’s game.

“I’d expect the same as they tried to do in the last game. They’ve got some players in and some quality experienced players, so we have to be sharp, but we always have to. Keep believing that we will get our chance in the game and when we get it just be very clinical, that’s what this league demands and that’s how you see the difference between us and other teams that we have met recently. That they score with the chances that they have, we also do that but not as clinically as the other teams and hopefully we can dominate the game more than they will. I expect that as well, if you look back at the first game, I think we did that, we are way better prepared now defensively than back then.”

The previous game against Rob Edward’s side came on the 3rd October, when Bruun Larsen’s 85th minute winner secured the three points and since then the winger believes the team have developed significantly.

“We’ve grown since we last played them, and they have to. We’re a new team, with new players, so it’s natural it takes time to settle in and now we’re definitely seeing a team that is defending and attacking all together, more so than back then.

“We grow together as well, and everyone gets more experience. It’s time now, now that we’ve been in the league for half a season, we can see how we play, how we want to play, everyone’s more or less on the same page in terms of what we want to do. If someone steps out, we also know how to react to that as well so, we are definitely more a team. I don’t want it to sound like we weren’t back then, but it just takes some time when you have so many new players coming in, but everyone has the same mindset, everyone wants to be united. I just feel that you can see that now, back then you could see the intentions to it, but now you can see more the stability part of it. I think that’s really great and that will help us in the future and not just now.”

And his winning goal, how good would it be to recreate that on the night?

“It would be nice! I’m going to do everything I can to try to do that again.”