Former Manchester United right back Gary Neville said he believes that Burnley ‘need more physicality’ if they are going to avoid a relegation battle.
Vincent Kompany’s side have started the season poorly, only picking up one point in their opening five games of the season since coming up from the Championship.
The Clarets lost Neville’s former club on Saturday evening 1-0 at Turf Moor, with a volley from United captain Bruno Fernandes separating the sides.
With Burnley in the bottom three along with Sheffield United and Luton Town, the other two promoted sides, Neville says Burnley need to adapt physically to the Premier League if they are to start picking up more points.
“You look at Burnley, it’s obvious they need more physicality, more strength,” he said on his Sky Sports podcast.
“They are trying to play beautiful football which is great, we have seen teams do that when they have come up.
“But I have to say they look like they are in a phase where their football is good, their patterns are good, but they are getting beat up in both boxes.
“The Premier League does that to you, because of the quality in both boxes and that is the big difference between the Championship and the Premier League. (The promoted teams) are going to have to learn quickly.”
Gary Neville believes Burnley may have to adapt style of play too
Furthermore, Neville said that Burnley will not completely stop the way they are playing, but may have to also adapt and change their tactics slightly.
“They are not going to lose faith in what they are doing, but they might have to adapt slightly to the conditions they find themselves in and understand that teams in the past have had to adapt to get results and win points.
“Once you are on the downward trajectory and you lose games, you wonder where your next win is going to come from.”