Scott Parker aiming to block out the 'noise' as Burnley look to get back to scoring ways against Sheffield Wednesday

The Clarets sit third in the Championship table after nine games and just one point adrift of the league leaders.

Despite being unbeaten in six, Parker’s side have struggled for goals of late, finding the back of the net on just five occasions in their last seven games.

That has led to some criticism from supporters of Burnley’s style of play, but Parker is more than happy with where his side are currently at.

“The way this football world works it doesn’t surprise me [the criticism], but we’re in a good place,” he said.

“We’re winning games and we’ve done exceptionally well considering where we were and currently where we are. I’m more than happy.

“We live in a world where everyone wants to pick up on little negatives and try and make a spin of that, but I’m really happy with the team, happy with the areas we’re getting into, so it’s all part of it.

“Of course we recognise the bits we need to improve on and we will try our hardest to keep nudging that along.”

When asked if the criticism aggravates him, Parker added: “I suppose you get used to it. We can’t control that, but I understand the narrative and the world we’re in, in terms of professional sport where a narrative gets spun constantly.

“That narrative will be spun another way if we were free-flowing and scoring, there would be something else people would maybe look to pick up on.

“Like always, you have to stay balanced and trust in what we’re doing. We’re here constantly and we’re seeing it. The players are working tirelessly and we have a real understanding of where we need to improve.

“I’m very aware, given my experiences in football, of the need to not allow that noise to escalate. But there will always be noise. One week it will be us, the next week it will be somebody else. You see it constantly.

“One week you will be the best team in the Championship and the following week after you have a couple of bad results you will be the worst. That’s the way it is, so you need to stay balanced and level in these situations.

“We’ve lost one game so far this season and this team is showing certain traits and certain qualities that make us a really, really good side.

“We’re also showing areas where we need to improve, but you could say that about large parts of every single football team in the league.”

Given we’re only nine games into the new season, Parker isn’t surprised by the improvements that are required.

“In my experience you will still have room for improvement with one game to go at the end of the season. That’s just part and parcel of the job and part and parcel of teams really,” he said.

“That’s professional sport, things change and things evolve so you’re always constantly looking to improve and make adjustments.

“Where we are, in terms of our development, there’s loads and loads for us to do and we all recognise that.

“We never overreact in certain moments so we will endeavour to keep improving on that as a team.”