Scott Parker outlines Burnley’s approach to the FA Cup ahead of Reading third round tie

The Clarets face League One side Reading at the Madejski Stadium on Saturday looking to seal their progression through to the fourth round of the FA Cup.

Coming off the back of Burnley’s hectic festive period, Parker believes the cup tie comes at the perfect time as he ponders handing out opportunities to players in need of minutes.

The likes of Vaclav Hladky, Joe Worrall, John Egan and Jay Rodriguez will be hoping to get their chance while new signings Oliver Sonne and the returning Ashley Barnes will also be hoping to feature.

“It's a competition that you can take a bit separate from the league. It gives us an opportunity,” Parker added.

“You just never, ever know in cup competitions. If you get on the right side of things, you pick up results and before you know it, you're two, three, four games away from getting in the real mix of things and that's how we'll approach this game.

“Of course, it's a different competition for us from the league. There's an opportunity now for us to maybe get some game time into some players as well.

“We're looking forward to this. It's a great game for us and it fits into the schedule perfectly for us for many reasons really. It gives us an opportunity to use players, to get players some game time.

“We're not in a position at this club to really use players in a reserve game or an Inder-21s fixture as much due to games, so this is an opportunity for players that maybe have not played as much this year to certainly get up to speed or players coming back from injury and getting ready again.”

The Clarets face a Royals side that are going well in League One, sitting sixth in the table, despite being mired in constant off-the-field strife.

“It's always concerning and I think the predicament that Reading have been in and the situation they've been in is full credit to the people in and around it on a daily basis, because they've done nothing short of a miracle,” Parker added.

“I think this is a club that's obviously embargoed for some time and there's been a lot of noise around it.

“But this is also a football club that I remember in the Premier League and certainly played against in play-offs trying to get to the Premier League.

“This will be a tough fixture for us this weekend. Young players, a bit of a siege mentality probably and we look forward to that challenge.”