Burnley have clinched an instant return to the Premier League under Vincent Kompany after Friday night's 2-1 win over Middlesbrough sealed promotion for the runaway Championship leaders.
The Clarets, who dropped out of the top-flight last term, have flourished under the guidance of Kompany, who took over at Turf Moor in the summer. And the Manchester City legend will test his mettle against the likes of Pep Guardiola and co next year after masterminding a remarkable campaign which has seen them lose just twice in the league all season.
After Luton Town dropped points against Millwall earlier in the afternoon, Burnley knew that a win at third-placed Middlesbrough would be enough to mathematically confirm promotion.
And Kompany's side made no mistake with an impressive performance at the Riverside Stadium against a Boro side who have been reinvigorated by former Manchester United first-team coach Michael Carrick.
Ashley Barnes was in the right place at the right time to divert Josh Brownhill's strike from the edge of the box beyond the stranded Zack Steffen in the Middlesbrough goal, but the hosts responded just three minutes after the half-time interval courtesy of a Chuba Akpom penalty.
Burnley were not to be denied, though, and Connor Roberts struck in the 66th minute to clinch promotion for the Clarets with a staggering SEVEN games to spare - and the focus will now be on claiming the Championship title ahead of Sheffield United, who are lagging 11 points behind their rivals.
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Nobody has clinched promotion with more games to spare than the Clarets since the Championship rebranded and all eyes will now be on Kompany and the squad ahead of the 2023/24 Premier League campaign.
Reacting after the match, Barnes, who is out of contract at the end of the season, hailed the triumph as "phenomenal" before admitting that his own personal story with the Clarets could be over.
He told Sky Sports: "After a difficult last season to get relegated and bounce back by going straight back up is phenomenal. I'm a bit emotional because this is my end of an era here as a Burnley player.
"To do that and score that goal for these fans, to give that back to them - I am quite emotional. It's on the club. It's time to move on, it's just one of those things. I'm delighted for all the staff and all the fans. The fans have been through some tough times last season and it was nice to give that back to them."
The Clarets favourite also paid tribute to the impressive work Kompany has done during his maiden season at the helm. He added: "It's a massive achievement [from Vincent Kompany]. It's a credit to him and all his staff and the hard work they put in throughout the season. And it's paid off for them.
"We had 17 or 18 new faces in at the start of the season so to bounce back in the way that we've done it already is just phenomenal for him. Hopefully we can finish it off and go as champions."
Burnley chairman Alan Pace also commended the work Kompany has overseen at Turf Moor and admitted that promotion has come "ahead of schedule".
He told Sky Sports: “It means the world to us right now. Vincent has come in has done a phenomenal job. This team has come together in a way that we could only hope. You can see the benefits of it tonight. This is the beginning of a lot more to come, I hope.
“He’s one of the most incredible people I’ve ever met. There will be a lot that we talk about over the years, he’s someone who is very special. This is a complete surprise, this was not our plan. Vincent and I spoke during the summer and talked about it in great length. We have ourselves two to three years [to get promoted] was the plan. What you’re seeing is a lot of magic coming together.
“This team is very, very good. You hear Vincent say it every week, they’ve got lots more to prove to themselves and everyone. They’re surprising each and every one of us every day, they’re phenomenal.”
