Andy Jones, Burnley reporter for The Athletic, insists that there is still belief in the Clarets camp despite a challenging return to the Premier League.

Vincent Kompany’s head into Saturday’s meeting with Brentford in 19th, 10 points from safety with 10 games to play, but recent performances against Bournemouth and West Ham United were not those of a team resigned to its fate.

Burnley are second bottom ahead of Saturday’s game. What have you made of the last few months?

There have been signs of progress, but there was quite a low bar from the start of the season, when Burnley’s inexperience and the gulf between the Premier League and the Championship was shown.

The problem was that, while the performances were better and they were competing in games and had the opportunities to pick up points, they still were not doing that and somehow finding ways to be on the wrong side of the final score.

There was a drop-off in the game at Arsenal, where the 5-0 scoreline was really disappointing, just because of the manner of the performance more than anything else, and that was followed up by a 3-0 defeat to Crystal Palace.

However, over the last couple of games, they have been competing at the levels they had been doing so previously. They were slightly unfortunate not to take a little bit more from the Bournemouth and West Ham games; they picked up one point from those, despite having 75 per cent possession against Bournemouth and having led West Ham 2-0 and then conceded an equaliser in added time.

So, there have been signs of progress, but it has all felt too little, too late, unfortunately, because of the size of the gap. There are still question marks over whether teams will have points deducted, but Burnley have still got work to do to even catch them, if that theoretical stuff does happen.

Do you think Burnley are resigned to their fate, or is there still belief they could pull off a miracle over the final two months?

There is certainly still belief there. Vincent Kompany is his side’s biggest cheerleader and not in a bad way. His message has been strong and consistent throughout and it has been about the development of both individuals and the team.

If you go back to the start of the season, you can see that progress has been made in that respect, but it was a very inexperienced squad, a very young squad, so a lot of people are having to learn all together at the same time in the most unforgiving league in the world.

I think there is a reality to it and results like Sunday, where they were potentially looking at three points against West Ham for a time, which could have made the table look significantly different, but they were not able to win that and have still only won three games all season.

The performances are not those of a team resigned to its fate. The Arsenal game could have been a turning point, but the response to that has shown that, even if there is a reality that it is very unlikely they will get out of this situation, there are still improvements they can make as they build towards next season, whatever league they are playing.

Until it is mathematically impossible, why not? With the overhanging situations I mentioned before, they just do not know how many points they will need to be in a position on the final day where they could do something.

Given how much money Burnley spent in the summer, is it fair to say the fans would have expected more, or was that viewed as building for the future, as much as anything?

There was an expectation that the situation would be a lot better than the way it has turned out. I have used this a few times, but I think Burnley fans were optimistic, given the way they had blown the Championship away, that they could come up and, not necessarily take it by storm, but cause a few shocks and do what other teams have been able to do in recent years.

The transfer spend was huge for Burnley, who have never really spent much, so there were expectations that it could be a season to enjoy, where they would be fighting for a spot in mid-table, but it has not gone that way. I think it comes back to the inexperience of the squad because they did buy a lot of young players who had not played in the Premier League, so it was a gamble that has not paid off in that respect.

There is also the long-term view of it as they have bought some players who might not be ready this year, but if they do go down, hopefully they will come back up and be better off for that experience. So, there was the short-term view of wanting to stay in the Premier League, but there was also the long-term plan in mind, too.

Which player should Brentford fans keep an eye on?

I spoke about Lyle Foster last time, but he has been dealing with mental health issues and is currently injured, so he has been a big player for Burnley, but will not be involved.

Sander Berge has probably been the most consistent performer throughout the season and was one of the ones they brought in who did have a bit of Premier League experience. He is in a pretty good vein of form and, in the last two games especially, has been playing well.

In terms of a star, you are looking at Wilson Odobert. He is a pacey, quick, skilful winger who has played inside recently as well, picking up pockets and, basically, when he is on the ball, Burnley look threatening. Sometimes he can drift in games, but when they get him running towards the opposition, he has got the trickery and speed to cause problems.

How is Vincent Kompany likely to set up his side at Turf Moor?

It is probably not going to differ too much from what they have been doing, which is more of a 4-2-3-1 in possession and 4-4-2 out of possession.

Providing it’s the same team they played against West Ham, they will have two in the middle of the park as a double pivot, shielding the defence, David Datro Fofana as the no.9 and then three interchanging in behind him.

Kompany did not really change much between the Bournemouth and West Ham games and, when he is happy with a performance, he does not like to tweak things too much, so, unless there are injuries, the personnel is likely to be very similar.

What’s your score prediction?

I am going to be positive, so I am going to go 2-1 to Burnley. I just think they having been building towards a win and Brentford are not in the greatest vein of form, even though they will be buoyed by the performance at the Emirates.

I am going to side with Burnley and hope they continue to keep their minor miracle dream alive.

Submit entries to our predictor game by 3pm on Saturday to be in with a chance to win monthly and seasonal predictor prizes!

Simply log in to your Bees account or create a free Bees account and head to the match centre where you can predict key match events for Burnley v Brentford.

Enter every week to collect points and compete for the top spot in monthly and seasonal leaderboards.