Burnley's Josh Laurent explains why back three role didn't come as a major surprise
Josh Laurent had a sneaky feeling Scott Parker was priming him for a back three role.
To the surprise of many, the midfielder has played the last two games on the right-hand side of Burnley’s back three.
But the 30-year-old has performed the role well, being a crucial part of a Clarets side that held Liverpool for 95 minutes before performing well during Saturday’s 1-1 draw against Nottingham Forest.
But rather than being a surprise call that came out of nowhere, Laurent reveals it’s something that was first mentioned to him all the way back in the summer.
He said: “The gaffer kept saying to me while he was driving me down to a few pre-season games and in training, he kept saying to me: ‘how do you find it there [in defence], how do you like it?’.
“So looking back now I think he was probably preparing me, so I knew it would probably come at some point.
“I was still a bit shocked the first 30 seconds when he said my name on the Friday [before the Liverpool game] that I was playing there.
“But after those 30 seconds, I had no fear. For him to put his trust in me to play there, it's everything I need to go out on that pitch and have full belief in myself to go and do the best for the team.”
When asked if he’s played in defence before, Laurent added: “I've played centre-half probably 10 or 12 times in my career, but in a two, never really played as a three.
“It's a little bit different, but I suppose it helps when you've got a six-time Premier League winner on the right side of you and a good keeper like Martin [Dubravka] behind you - as well as the club captain in front of you.
“The boys make it easier for me and I'm just here to help the team.”
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Laurent was speaking after Burnley came back from a horror start to draw 1-1 with Forest on Saturday, courtesy of Jaidon Anthony’s third goal of the campaign.
“I'd probably say in the end it's a fair result,” Laurent said. “I'd say both teams had chances.
“Martin made some very good saves, their keeper made some good saves and we had some very good moments in the game. I suppose in the end it was whoever was going to be more ruthless and no-one could find that final touch.
“But I think it was a very good performance, with and without the ball. We showed both sides of our game.
“It was a bit more of a complete performance than probably we've shown so far. We keep improving and showing a bit more each week so there's so much more to come from this team and this club. Hopefully we can turn these positive performances into some real positive results.”
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