Connor Roberts provides honest assessment of Burnley’s painful draw with Derby

Connor Roberts has called out his Burnley teammates for switching off during Burnley’s painful late draw to Derby County.

Nicky Hayen’s side were minutes away from securing their first win of the season on Saturday, only to concede a stoppage-time equaliser during their 1-1 draw.

It was a poor goal to concede too, as Mo Fuseini capitalised on acres of space down the right flank to drill across the goalkeeper and into the far corner.

It prompted a deflated and almost eery Turf Moor atmosphere at the final whistle, as players sunk to the ground while many supporters were left speechless - as Burnley’s long wait for a win continued.

When asked for his thoughts on a ‘disappointing’ afternoon at Turf Moor, Roberts told Burnley’s official YouTube channel: “That line or something along those lines has been said far too many times over the last however many months.

“We just need to switch on. It's alright, the talk, everyone's talked over the last however many months like I say, but it's whether you want to do that [switch on].

“I said before the game in the huddle, from the first minute until that whistle goes, high alert, switch on, always expect anything and I'm not entirely sure, but obviously someone or a few people or us as a team didn't do that until the final whistle and they got a goal from our own goal kick.

“It’s criminal, it’s disappointing and we have to pick ourselves up again now and keep on trying and maybe, hopefully the win is around the corner, but only if we keep on switching on for the whole game, not just parts of it.”

While they’re still without a win this season, Burnley’s run without three points actually stretches back to February.

It’s also coming up to a year since the last time the Clarets enjoyed a league victory at Turf Moor.

While Roberts admits it might be playing on their minds, he says they’ve got to find a way to move past it.

“As a figure in the dressing room, I try to reiterate that every game is a new start, a fresh start,” the Welshman added. “It’s a clean slate and whatever has gone on, has gone on.

“The only people who are privileged enough to try and change it, to actually go out there, wear the shirt and try and represent Burnley Football Club are us and we haven't done that well enough.

“But I ask the question to everybody that comes here to play for Burnley Football Club, you sacrifice so much, you move from wherever you move from, you move away from family, you commit to coming and trying to work hard and to represent us and is it worth switching on? Is it worth putting in that maximum effort once, twice a week, however many times it may be? Of course it is.

“We've got a break coming up now, so maybe it's a chance for some players to go away, remind themselves why they make the sacrifices they do and try and buck up our ideas when we come back.

“That's all we can do, is keep on going and don't give up.”