Scott Parker lays out Burnley’s FA Cup ambitions ahead of Preston North End fifth round tie

Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and Tottenham have already been knocked out of the competition ahead of this weekend’s fifth round ties.

Manchester City remain favourites to lift the trophy at Wembley despite their sluggish season, while holders Manchester United also remain in the competition.

But with Burnley facing Championship rivals Preston North End at Deepdale tomorrow, the possibility of Scott Parker’s side reaching the final stages of the world’s most famous cup competition increases.

When asked if the draw opening up gives Burnley a big chance of going deep into the tournament, Parker said: “That's the aim.

“I think whether that's the case or not in terms of big clubs leaving the competition, I think the cup always brings in special moments where every game seems to be really competitive. That's what the competition brings.

“The main focus is Saturday and we're not going to really look much further than that. We've got a job to do and we need to go there and obviously put in a performance and win the game and then see where it takes us.”

It was only two weeks ago that Burnley were held to a frustrating draw at Deepdale despite boasting the game’s better chances.

Lyle Foster was the main culprit, missing two gilt-edged opportunities either side of half-time.

Despite the annoyance at the result, Parker was pleased with the general display - but now he wants the end product to boot.

“We were frustrated that day. It was a frustrating day because the performance was there,” he said.

“We created some big opportunities which we didn't manage to execute on the day and we obviously came out with a draw.

“We're looking to go and try and take the same performance there again, hopefully be even more of a better version of ourselves really and win the game.”

After playing out two goalless draws against PNE in the league, Parker admits Burnley have extra motivation to make it third time lucky - although he wouldn’t be surprised if it was another tight encounter.

“We're playing against a good side. They're an aggressive team, play a certain way, man for man. Sometimes the game does look like that,” he said.

“They know what they're doing. But I think it gives us great confidence from the last time we played them, only three or four weeks ago, because we played well in our moments and we executed, we had some big opportunities.

“I’m hoping we're better for that and we're a better version at the weekend.”