Burnley co-owner JJ Watt says Clarets 'need to play better' and are a 'small club'

10/04/2024 20:58

Burnley co-owner JJ Watt might have indirectly insulted his club and its fans while also insisting that they must play better.

While speaking on The Pat McAfee Show, where sports stars are interviewed on ESPN and YouTube, former NFL player and Burnley co-owner Watt spoke to Pat McAfee about his club’s efforts this season.

The Clarets have had a tough campaign after landing promotion from the Championship last season and could be on their way back down to the second tier.

Burnley have had some tough decisions go against them with seven red cards this season – more than any other team in the Premier League – and Watt was asked about what was perceived as refereeing injustices.

He replied: “As a small club, some of those things, you don’t necessarily have a voice, you don’t have the ability to speak up and obviously people are careful with what they say.

“I am happy to be that voice because I do know how it feels like to be, as a fan and an owner now, in those situations where you see a lot of those calls stack up in certain ways.

“You wonder is it because no one has ever spoken up about it or because we are a small club, whatever it may be?

“I am happy to speak up about it, and yeah, there are definitely calls that go this way and that way here and there.

“This season it seems oddly stacked up a certain way multiple times and you start to get those official apology letters multiple times.

“You’re like, ‘Okay, how many times are we going to get these official apologies before we start to look at this whole thing here?’

“But at the end of the day, truthfully, we just need to play better.”

Burnley have had a disappointing season and are 19th in the Premier League table with just 19 points from 32 outings.

Relegation looks almost certain but they are still just six points off safety with six games to go but will need a remarkable upturn in form.

The Clarets have won just four games all season in the Premier League – losing 21.

But co-owner Watt, who purchased a minority stake in the club in 2023 alongside his wife, has remained faithful to Kompany while they have bought young, unproven talents from Belgium and France largely.

While they might return to the Championship, Burnley could be well-positioned to return to the Premier League again and allow their youngsters to develop ahead of giving the top tier another crack in a few years time.