Scott Parker blames fixture list on 'highly competitive' Burnley's struggling start to the season
Burnley boss Scott Parker believes his side have been competitive in games this season.
Burnley boss Scott Parker believes his side have been competitive in games this season despite only winning one out of seven Premier League matches.
As the Clarets reach the second international break of the season, the side sit in 18th place, having picked up just four points on their return to top-flight football. The two games where Parker’s side have picked up results have both come at Turf Moor against newly promoted Sunderland and a Nottingham Forest team who have already switched manager this season.
But the manager believes there’s “no denying” that Burnley have been handed a bad hand when reflecting on their fixtures so far this season.
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Parker was speaking after his side suffered yet another defeat away to Aston Villa last weekend, where his side attempted to fight back from 2-0 down but, ultimately, came up with no away points for the fourth match on the road this season.
“Look, there's no denying it,” Parker said. “I think, as someone said, that Arsenal have had one of the toughest starts. I think ours compares with Arsenal, other than one game or maybe today's games as well. I think they're practically identical, who Arsenal have played and who we've played.”
Burnley have had to travel to high-flying Tottenham in their opening game of the season, to Old Trafford to face Manchester United, and hosted champions Liverpool in their first seven games.
However, despite the challenging fixture list, Parker believes his side have been “highly competitive” in most of these games.
“There's no denying we've had an incredibly tough start,” he said. “But in saying that, the huge positives are that as tough as this start's been, we've been hugely competitive, taking teams and dropping points in the dying minutes with penalties in Man Utd and Liverpool. And we've been hugely competitive. “Maybe last week, not so much, and we didn't deserve it. And today, there was bits.”
After being cruelly denied points by lapses in concentration while defending against Manchester United and Liverpool, where they gave away the two penalties, as Parker mentioned, he said his side can’t afford to do that in Premier League matches.
“Certainly, there's a little element here where we need to have an understanding that we can't switch off in every moment. We need to bring a certain concentration, a certain level, certainly in this division.” But the former Bournemouth boss is defiant in his messaging and says the club, who have only won one game this season, are in the Premier League to win football matches.
“We're here to win, and I'm here to win, and this team are, and we want to be here to stay. “So there's learning from it that we need to improve on. But you're right, we're now going to the next part.”
It is now time for Burnley to regroup during the international break, where many will continue to train with the club, and find a way to push themselves out of their current relegation trouble.