It’s been 15 years since Kyle Walker last played in the Championship.
Back then, the full-back was yet to win any of his 96 England caps and was worlds away from becoming one of the most decorated players of his generation.
Yet as Walker prepares to return to the level next Sunday, when Burnley kick off their third Championship season in five years at home to West Ham, it is a period he still reflects on fondly.
‘It was a massive part of my career,’ Walker says of his four-month loan spell at QPR under Neil Warnock during the 2010-11 campaign. ‘Playing in the Championship grounds you, but it also teaches you. It can be very humbling as well.
‘Having experienced players like Fitz Hall, Shaun Derry, Clint Hill and Paddy Kenny around me, it was a good dressing room to be in. I fell back in love with football a bit there and it was something I needed to do to make that step up to the Premier League.’
Even though Walker has gone on to win 17 trophies since that spell, the 36-year-old, who earned his first England call-up a month after his time at QPR ended, is as hungry as ever for success after one of the most difficult campaigns of his career.
Kyle Walker is desperate to help Burnley get promoted after last season’s relegation
Walker hasn’t played in the Championship since a breakout loan spell at QPR in 2010-11
‘It left a sour taste in my mouth,’ Walker says of Burnley’s third successive Premier League relegation. ‘I want to put it right, not just for myself but for the fans who had to deal with it and for the players who have stuck around.
‘I feel we have an obligation to put it right and with the quality we have in the dressing room, we should be getting promoted and going back to the Premier League.’
Having spent much of his career competing for titles, Walker found himself battling the drop last season, a mental challenge he had to get his head around.
Now back in the Championship, a division in which Burnley have hit 100 points in each of their last two seasons, Walker is likely to be part of a dominant team again.
And it is that experience he hopes to put to good use, along with some words of wisdom from a former Manchester City team-mate.
‘I’ve spoken to Vincent Kompany and got advice from him,’ he adds. ‘I asked how he found it (being at Burnley in the Championship) after achieving what he achieved.
‘He said it’s difficult and something that is going to be a task for myself (the expectation to win), but it is also very enjoyable because you become a big fish again, and you get a little bit more of the ball. It’s a bit more of the game I was used to playing at Manchester City.
‘Hopefully we can replicate that from when Vinny went up because they broke 100 points and tore the Championship apart.’
Walker, who scored the winning penalty in Burnley’s Carabao Cup victory over Notts County on Saturday, is relishing his leadership role at Turf Moor and, despite his age, insists he is still in top physical shape.
Burnley will have a target on their backs from the outset this season, and no player is likely to experience that quite like Walker, with many bright young left wingers keen to get the better of him.
‘I think they try to create, what are they called… memes now,’ he adds. ‘They’ll try and create memes out of me, but I can assure you I am not becoming anyone’s meme.’
Walker sought the advice of his ex-Man City team-mate and Burnley boss Vincent Kompany
Walker said last season’s relegation left a ‘sour taste’ in his mouth and he is determined to ‘put it right’
The 36-year-old has been impressed by the early work of new Burnley boss Nicky Hayen
Burnley’s hopes of an immediate return to the Premier League have followed another summer of change at Turf Moor, with Belgian boss Nicky Hayen replacing Scott Parker, while first team stars Jaidon Anthony, Maxime Esteve, Florentino and Lesley Ugochukwu have all departed.
And Walker has been impressed by Hayen’s early impact.
‘He’s been great,’ Walker says. ‘The information he has given is key and he is very direct. Too much information sometimes kills it, but he has been spot on with his information. He’s got his message across really clearly and I’m looking forward to working with him, because I think he’s going to be a candidate for manager of the season.’
The Clarets have now been promoted or relegated in five successive seasons, so what advice can Walker pass on to his team-mates to ensure they bounce straight back up again?
‘Success in anything is about mentality,’ he says. ‘Talent gets you so far, but mentality and wanting to do well – not just in big games when it’s on TV, or when it’s sunny and the fans are there in their thirty thousands cheering your name – it’s when it’s raining and not on TV, it’s 7.45pm on a Tuesday night and the wind’s swirling around.
‘That’s about rolling your sleeves up, getting dirty, and making sure that we can get the three points.’
Walker’s career hasn’t always been straightforward, on and off the pitch, yet at 36 and 15 years on from that grounding loan spell at QPR, he is content with life and ready to write another chapter in his story.
‘Would I have ever thought that I would experience the things I have in football back when I was at QPR? Hell no. What I’ve achieved is something I could only have dreamed of.
‘So I definitely am at peace and I’ve achieved a lot, but I’m so hungry for more. Getting Burnley promoted is another trophy I want to add to my collection – I want to put it on my CV.’
