Why Lyle Foster’s reinstatement is “massive” for Burnley before the test against Luton Town
Lyle Foster’s return to the starting lineup, in the opinion of Vincent Kompany, will be “massive” for his goal-shy Burnley team.
The striker has completed his three-match suspension for the red card he received against Nottingham Forest and is eligible to go tonight to Luton.
The 23-year-old Foster had scored twice in as many league games prior to the 1-1 draw at the City Ground, so the punishment came at the worst possible time for both Foster and the Clarets.
Kompany’s side have failed to score in their subsequent two league games, albeit they did plunder four past Salford City in the Carabao Cup.
Foster’s comeback was discussed, and Kompany responded, “It’s big.
Zeki (Amdouni) and Jay Rodriguez performed admirably during their brief time at the top. We’ve had at least two or three significant opportunities in each game. There are plenty of opportunities for us to score; we’re simply not doing so right now.
“You have to believe if your performances are good and you keep creating chances. Of course, we can create more, but it’s always challenging playing against top sides, so you have to believe you’re still on the right track to get results.”
Kompany added: “Lyle was on a trajectory where he was showing good signs to be a good player in this league.
“When you have someone with momentum, you want to keep them involved as much as you can and hopefully on Tuesday we can have the Lyle we had before the suspension.
“Everyone knows he’s a threat and he scores goals as well.”
Foster’s dismissal was for violent conduct, having elbowed a Forest player in the midriff – an incident Kompany believes the South African will have learned from.
“It’s done now. The learning has happened,” he said.
“Ideally you want to prevent it, but you do learn from these moments and usually they stay as core memories.
“It’s some of the things you have with players adapting to a new level and a new league, different situations so you have to learn to manage these moments. He will have learned from that.”