Burnley midfielder Hjalmar Ekdal has admitted they know that they need to be more cynical to succeed in the Premier League.
Aftonbladet have an interview with the Burnley man today in which he admits lessons have been learned from their time under Vincent Kompany.
Burnley are back in the Premier League this season after finishing second in the Championship last season.
They and Leeds were the runaway leaders in the league, both securing 100 points and finishing ten ahead of Sheffield United in third.
Burnley completely changed their outlook under Scott Parker, though, conceding just 16 goals across 46 games. Leeds were the second lowest, on 30 goals conceded.
“We know what it takes”
The last time they were in the Premier League, they concede 78 in 38 games, with Kompany refusing to change an open approach that often cost them. Lessons have been learned, says Ekdal, and they’re now more willing to be ‘cynical’.
“Now we know what we need to do to succeed in taking points. That we need to lie low sometimes and be cynical sometimes,” he said.
“We know what it takes to take points. Maybe it’s not all about us playing great football, but we are more cynical and result-driven and also very close-knit.”
Things are currently going well for Burnley back in the top flight, with a solid start to the season giving hope that they can survive this season.
That means criticism hasn’t been forthcoming yet. Ekdal is pleased with that, admitting that he only learned to be self-critical when he came to Burnley in 2023.
“Generally speaking, it’s now in recent years, when I’ve reached this level, that I’ve gotten to experience what it’s like to receive criticism,” he added.
“What it’s like to have setbacks. I would say that my time in Sweden was very frictionless and gave me a sense of security and self-confidence. Now that I’m abroad, I’ve gotten to experience what it’s like to not always have that self-confidence, to not always have that security.”
