Scott Parker's immediate reaction to Burnley's nervy win against Plymouth Argyle
Scott Parker acknowledged Burnley’s nervy win against Plymouth Argyle should have been a lot more comfortable.
It was a thoroughly deserved lead, but one that ought to have been extended after the hosts dominated the opening 45 minutes.
But after failing to find that second goal, a nervy second-half ensued where the visitors produced a couple of anxious moments late on.
But Parker’s men held on for the three points, to extend their unbeaten run to five games and move up to second in the Championship table.
“I think it’s fair to say it should have been more comfortable,” Parker said afterwards.
“I thought we were exceptional in the first-half, we were every bit of the team I want us to be. It was arguably the best 45 minutes we’ve probably played in terms of having a real good structure about us and an understanding of where the ball needs to move.
“You probably need to come in 2 or 3-0 up. If that happens we would have been well worthy of that.
“But the Championship being the Championship, it’s definitely right to say the second-half changes a bit and we struggled in certain moments.
“It’s not me making excuses, but we had a quick turnaround and I felt we looked a little bit jaded in the second-half. At that point you just need to get out with three points.
“That was the big positive for me, coming out of here with three points and we move on.”
Burnley’s main fault in the first-half was their final ball, which too often failed to find its intended target.
Parker is confident that will come with time though and opted to praise his side for how well they worked the ball into those attacking positions.
He added: “We got to the final third with ease with the way we played and then we just lacked that tiny bit of composure at the back end and just that understanding.
“It’s a young side though and we’re putting so much work in as a group, so these are just little steps we need to take.
“Defensively we are working hard and you’ve seen elements of that, you then see us moving up the pitch and the way we play. Like anything, you can’t cover everything so you’re trying to nudge your way forward, but we will definitely improve in those areas.”
In the end, it was Brownhill’s fourth goal in his first eight games that proved decisive – the skipper sending the goalkeeper the wrong way from the spot kick after Josh Cullen had been fouled.
“We were well worthy of at least 1-0 at half-time,” Parker said.
"We earned the right to get the penalty with our counter-positions and how well we were structured in that moment.
“I’ve seen Browny do that every day in training so I had real confidence in him stepping up and taking that penalty.”