Burnley boss Scott Parker discusses welcome timing of international break after 'challenging' few weeks

It’s been a challenging couple of weeks for Burnley’s head coach, who has been focusing on matters off the pitch just as much as what was going on the pitch during the final throes of the transfer window.

But now deadline day has come and gone and the Clarets know what the squad they’ve got moving forwards, Parker is keen to settle down and concentrate solely on the football.

With Burnley not in action until Saturday, September 14 with a trip to Elland Road to face Leeds United, Parker is looking forward to getting some invaluable work done on the training pitch.

When asked about the timing of the international break, Parker said: “It probably does come at a good time, that’s fair to say, just to take a breath and take stock a little bit.

“At that point, we can draw a line under where we are and where we’re going to be, that’s probably the key for me.

“At that moment, it’s going to be ‘this is what it is now’ and this is what we’ve got. The challenge now is to work with these players and work with this group.

“We had six weeks of pre-season but this is now almost a whole new team, so we need to do a lot of work, which we will do over the international break which comes at a good time for us, and keep moving together.”

Given the uncertainty hanging over the head of so many players heading into deadline day, Parker admits it made life difficult preparing for games.

“It’s been very difficult,” he said.

“[Before the Blackburn Rovers game] Jaidon Anthony and Josh Laurent had one training session on Friday morning, which lasted 45 minutes, to go through the game plan, so of course it’s been really difficult in that sense.

“I’ve seen how the dynamics have been throughout the last three or four weeks and there have certainly been some challenges.

“But the players that are here, they want to be here and play for the football club and that’s a huge plus for me.”