Football
Scott Parker Vows Tireless Work During International Break to Fix Burnley’s Goal Woes
Burnley boss Scott Parker insisted his side will “work tirelessly” during the international break to find their elusive cutting edge in front of goal. Football bettors have kept a close eye on the Totals market when Burnley have been in action.
Scott Parker//Getty Images
The Clarets needed a dramatic 95th-minute Jay Rodriguez penalty to send them into the break with a much-needed three points against Swansea City.
As much as it was important for the Lancashire promotion chasers to get back to winning ways after four games without victory, Parker knows the result does nothing to paper over the cracks of their woeful scoring streak.
The misfiring Clarets have found the back of the net just once from open play in their last five Championship outings.
International Break Challenges with Key Players Absent
Parker will be without a number of key names who have been called up for international duty as he puts his charges through their paces on the training ground.
James Trafford (England), Basir Humphreys (England U21s), Josh Cullen (Republic of Ireland), Hannibal (Tunisia), Jeremy Sarmiento (Ecuador), Andreas Houstondji (Benin) and Connor Roberts (Wales) are all away with their countries.
“For sure, there are things I want to work on with the squad during the international break,” Parker told SportsBoom.com.
“We’ll keep working tirelessly to improve us and to try and keep making us better.”
“Of course, we have a lot of internationals away and that can make it disruptive.”
“We had a day off on Monday after the game, but we’re back to work.”
It’s time for us to come in, get our boots on, get on the training pitch and keep working.
Scott Parker
Burnley were flying in their quest for an immediate return to the Premier League at the start of the season, losing just once in their first 10.
To be fair to them, they have only suffered one defeat in their previous five heading into the international fortnight.
But it is the standard of their performances which was a cause for concern as they drew at Hull, were held to a goalless draw with basement boys QPR, lost at Millwall and had another stalemate at West Brom.
Parker's Promotion Expertise and Optimism
Cool-headed Parker knows just what it takes to get promoted from the Championship having led Fulham, via the play-offs in 2020, and AFC Bournemouth, as runners-up two years later, to the topflight.
He is adamant the signs are good. He added: “We’ll analyse the game from Sunday, take all the positives from that game. We live in a world where we get judged on the W and the L or a draw.”
“There are fine margins in football. The reality is we won a game of football in the dying seconds, but there were a lot of positives to take out of that game regardless of the result.”
Me as a coach, in this position I’m in, I’m always analysing the bigger picture in certain moments.
Scott Parker
"I’m looking forward to explaining to the lads that we’re moving in the right direction and that’s down to the commitment that they’re showing.”
Burnley are back in action with a trip to Bristol City on November 23 before they host managerless Coventry City, who recently sacked the longest serving boss in the Football League in Mark Robins, three days later.
Shane is a respected journalist who has covered a range of sports for a number of years.