Scott Parker's immediate reaction to Burnley's stalemate against Middlesbrough in final game of 2024
Scott Parker has spoken of his pride at how his Burnley side have navigated a tiring festive schedule following their goalless draw against Middlesbrough.
The Clarets extended their unbeaten run to 11 games by claiming a hard-earned point at the Riverside in their final game of 2024, just three days on from their big win against Sheffield United on Boxing Day.
Parker, whose side are back in action again on New Year’s Day against Stoke City, had nothing but praise for his players, despite rueing a big Josh Brownhill miss that would have made it four wins on the spin.
“I’m probably a little bit disappointed [not to get all three points],” he admitted.
“I thought the game ebbed and flowed. But we have a glorious chance, in fact we have a couple to be fair, but we have a big chance with Browny and I don’t think you’d want a better man to put that in - he’s proven that over the course of the season - but he’s not managed to do that tonight.
“I could forgive any of them for missing, but certainly Browny.
“Overall it’s a good point. We’ve had some tough fixtures and I knew this would be a big test for us. Not just in terms of the opposition we were facing, but just in terms of where we were after a tough schedule. The fixtures have probably not been the best of friends since they came out at the start of the season - Sheffield United away on Boxing Day was a tough game and tonight as well.
“But overall I’m really pleased with the team.”
While Parker is pleased with the point, that’s not to say he was happy to settle for a draw having thrown on two strikers late on in search of a winner.
It didn’t transpire, with Boro ending the game the stronger, but Parker felt he had to freshen things up having named an unchanged side for the third game running.
“It was tempting to make changes, of course, but they’re the decisions as a manager you’re constantly having to face,” he added.
“It wasn’t an easy decision but I think it was proven right. I did consider freshening things up to maybe give us a spark because we’ve just had a tough game at Sheffield United, but the players were superb.
“We wanted to come here and get three points and I think the subs we made indicated that. We wanted to try and win the game.
“We didn’t manage to do that but that was the idea.”