'Very grim' Burnley verdict emerges after Brentford collapse - "Parker will need more"
Burnley suffered a late collapse to lose 3-1 away at Brentford on Saturday, their fourth straight defeat.
Burnley’s chances of avoiding an immediate relegation from the Premier League are looking ‘very grim’ following their 3-1 defeat to Brentford.
That’s according to BBC Sport journalist Adwaidh Rajan, who watched live as the Clarets fell to a fourth successive defeat on Saturday afternoon.
Burnley rode waves of pressure at the Gtech Community Stadium to head into the final 10 minutes still level at 0-0. However, a remarkable end to the game saw Igor Thiago and Zian Flemming trade penalties, before Thiago struck again and Dango Ouattara finished the tie at the end.
Scott Parker’s men remain 19th as a result and could end the week four points from safety if Sunday’s results go against them.
Burnley’s survival hopes ‘grim’ after Brentford collapse
Despite the poor results, Burnley have kept themselves in most games this season and have shown plenty of fight to suggest they can achieve an unlikely survival.
However, Rajan believes Saturday’s late capitulation in the capital leaves them in poor shape, calling on more from Burnley’s forwards to give themselves a chance.
“In his pre-match news conference on Thursday, Burnley manager Scott Parker spoke about the ‘massive progression’ he had seen in his squad and conveyed his optimism in their bid to survive in the Premier League,” wrote Rajan.
“But after the 3-1 defeat by Brentford on Saturday, their chances of maintaining their top-flight status come the end of the season look very grim.
“Parker's side showed plenty of character, fight and resilience again for 80 minutes of the game as they kept out waves of Brentford attacks at the Gtech Community Stadium, only for their good work to be undone by a crazy final 10 minutes.
“Even after going behind to a penalty, they fought back to draw level before Brentford scored twice again to lay bare Burnley's weakness.
“Heading into the game, they had the lowest amount of shots per game (8.2) in the Premier League since Opta started recording that data in 1997, and they only mustered six shots on Saturday to continue the trend.
“It was their fourth straight defeat in the league, but on a positive note, Dutch forward Zian Flemming scored his fourth goal in five matches for the Clarets.
“But with only three wins and a draw to collect 10 points from 13 games so far and only Wolves behind them on two points, Parker will need more from his attackers if they are to avoid another mishap in the top flight.”
What next for Burnley?
There’s little time for Burnley to lick their wounds, with a clash at Turf Moor against Crystal Palace to come on Wednesday.
From there, the Clarets travel to a Newcastle United side rediscovering their form, host Fulham, and then conclude their pre-Christmas schedule on the south coast against Bournemouth.
Failure to pick up a couple of positive results in that run could really leave Burnley in a bleak situation when it comes to the battle for survival.