Opinion: Apathy returns to anger again as feeble Burnley capitulate at Nottingham Forest

Forget the fact that Burnley lost, that much was virtually a given. And even if they had done the unthinkable and held on for a rare win, it would have counted for very little at this late stage anyway.

But no, it was the manner of their gutless capitulation in the final 30 minutes that left me as peeved off as any other result this season.

For as bad as Burnley have been this season, and their fate will surely be sealed on Wednesday night, I’ve very rarely, if ever, questioned their mentality, their attitude or their quality.

Instead, more often than not, it’s been a story of a lack of quality. Or perhaps the wrong tactics, approach, formation and team selection.

But I don’t characterise this as a side that throws in the towel, otherwise – in this division especially – you get some harsh lessons and find yourselves on the wrong end of some heavy defeats.

But what we witnessed at the City Ground on Sunday, from the hour mark onwards, was feeble. It was weak-minded and they got exactly what they deserved.

Smash and grab

Forest were there for the taking. Physically and mentally exhausted from their midweek European exploits, Vitor Pereira’s side offered absolutely nothing. Flat and lacklustre, the home side just couldn’t get anything going.

Burnley weren’t much better themselves in an attacking sense, but as the away side they’d have been more than happy with how the first-half was progressing; taking the sting out of the game, quietening the crowd down and offering the odd threat on the counter.

It made for a dull spectacle, but even at 0-0 Burnley would have been the happier of the two sides heading into the half-time break.

But lo and behold, the visitors gave themselves something to hang onto with a smash and grab affair, taking the lead with virtually the last action of the half with a decent bit of play in the final third.

The otherwise poor Marcus Edwards drifted into space in between the lines, turning to find Quilindschy Hartman who pulled the ball back for Zian Flemming to steer home from close range.

A quick word for Flemming, who deserves all sorts of sympathy for what he’s having to endure while still managing to carve out a really impressive debut campaign in the Premier League.

That’s now 10 goals for the season in all competitions, nine in the league and from just 16 starts. In the league, he’s scoring at a rate of a goal every 151 minutes, which takes some doing.

He recently spoke about how much he’s loving life in the Premier League and how he’s frustrating not to have already forced his way into the Netherlands reckoning. Selfishly, he’ll be thinking he’s done more than enough to stay in the top flight next season and you know what? Fair play to him, he’s right.

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You knew Burnley would look to sit on their lead rather than hunt a second, that’s just a given at this point.

But to be fair, nothing really changed for the first 15 minutes of the second half. Forest continued to frustrate their own supporters, as moans and groans met every misplaced pass or Burnley interception.

But we all knew what was coming, we’ve all read this play book before. As soon as Forest applied the tiniest bit of pressure, their first of the match, Burnley simply wilted.

Fifteen minutes later, they were 3-1 down. Simply inexcusable.

Now let’s be fair, it’s a stunning hat-trick from Morgan Gibbs-White, who was the best player on the pitch by some distance. He brings quality Burnley can only dream of.

But the Clarets also made it far too easy with some error-strewn play, lax marking and, as the goals went in one by one, an alarming drop in effort.

Now of course, you’ve got to be fair. In the predicament Burnley find themselves in, with one win in 24 and relegation looming, it’s to be expected the players are feeling a little brittle and their confidence levels are low.

But I’m sorry, that doesn’t stop you running five yards to stop a cross, or staying in position to mark the most dangerous player on the pitch. It was basic stuff.

Igor Jesus then compounds Burnley’s misery with a fourth deep into stoppage time. I’d like to say it came as the Clarets were pushing for a late consolation, but that would be twisting the truth somewhat.

Final blow

So here we are, the moment is almost upon us. Relegation has been hanging over Burnley for months now, if we’re being honest. It’s been an inevitability for some time now.

But depending on what West Ham do against Crystal Palace on Monday night, their fate could finally be sealed when Manchester City come to town.

That’s all Burnley need, isn’t it? A buoyant City side desperate to go top after their big win over Arsenal on Sunday. And with a win taking them level on points with the Gunners, they’ll have extra motivation to give their goal difference a boost too.

Not that City ever need any extra motivation to beat Burnley heavily, it’s what they tend to do anyway. Sorry to any Arsenal fans reading this, hoping for some solace that the Clarets could pull off an unlikely result, but City have beaten Burnley in 18 of their last 19 meetings by an aggregate score of 63-7.

It could be a chastening evening at the Turf.

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