Burnley boss Vincent Kompany on Stoke City victory

Josh Cullen’s strike after a comedy of Potters errors helped the visiting Clarets re-establish their three-point lead over Sheffield United.

Burnley move into the New Year on the back of five successive league victories – a feat they last achieved back in 2018.

The introduction of Jay Rodriguez and Anass Zaroury off the bench proved key for Kompany’s side as they rose to 14 points above third place.

“I really enjoy those wins – if you want to be successful, you have to win these games,” the Burnley boss said.

“We still have to prove that we’re a good team - it wasn’t our best performance on the ball, but defensively it was a really good performance.

“We dealt with the long balls, and it wasn’t supposed to be an easy game so it’s a good win. We weren’t awesome on the ball, but we did everything we needed to do to stay solid and that was good.

“I had an idea of what I wanted for this game – some of the things didn’t go to plan, but if that’s the case then these wins, I can really appreciate them.

“The whole team will go home knowing how important this win was. Having such a big squad has been valuable for us and it’s been a feature of our season.

“We had to decide between keeping our best players or monetising it and selling one to buy four. We did that because it allowed us to have a bigger squad.

“I’m learning that there are a lot of games in the Championship, so having those numbers was the most important decision we’ve made.”

Kompany's men are back in action on Monday, Janaury 2 when they make the trip to Swansea City (3pm).

Clarets on social, plus take out a subscription...

Keep up to date with our Burnley coverage on social media by joining us on Facebook and Twitter

Gain unlimited access to the Lancashire Telegraph website with a premium digital subscription

Or if you want the Telegraph newspaper delivered to your door, get in touch with our home delivery team or call us on 0800 953 0227