"People might not want to hear that" - Scott Parker reveals what Burnley FC must sort out | OneFootball

"People might not want to hear that" - Scott Parker reveals what Burnley FC must sort out | OneFootball

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·30 October 2024

"People might not want to hear that" - Scott Parker reveals what Burnley FC must sort out

Article image:"People might not want to hear that" - Scott Parker reveals what Burnley FC must sort out

Scott Parker has demanded improvements after his Burnley side were held to a 0-0 draw by QPR

Burnley boss Scott Parker has demanded improvements from his side despite labelling his side's 0-0 draw with lowly QPR as one of their best performances of the season.


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The Clarets dominated possession and had 22 shots but were unable to find the back of the net, a hugely frustrating result given the position of the two sides in the league table.

Despite having just shy of 75% possession and 22 shots, just four of them were on target, and it's clear that a lack of cutting edge let them down against the Hoops.

Burnley's start to the season had some people thinking they were going to run away with the division at a canter, scoring nine goals in their opening two games against Luton Town and Cardiff City, and despite sitting in the automatic promotion places, they haven't had it all their own way in recent weeks.

Parker was pleased with his side's performance on Saturday, but the result frustrated him, and he believes there is more his side can do to break teams down.

Scott Parker reveals what Burnley must sort out

Article image:"People might not want to hear that" - Scott Parker reveals what Burnley FC must sort out

Parker believes that Burnley will have to play in a different way when they come up against sides who are happy to sit back in a low block, and outlined what they need to improve on.

Speaking to the Burnley Express, the Clarets boss said: "There’s definitely more things we can do and there’s definitely things we can still improve.

“Some of these players have probably never played in a game like that, in terms of a dominant team having to break down a low, low block. There’s a difference to how you play.

“This was not the game where you get it out wide and stick it in the box, because they’ve got four 6ft 2ins central defenders where it’s happy days for them. We need to be cute and clever in those moments.

“You need to work movements, you need to be able to play in tight spaces, work your moments and work your overloads and we were a little bit short on that, for sure.

“It’s all part of it though. People might not want to hear that, but we will carry on moving and carry on progressing.”

The stalemate against the Hoops means that Burnley are now five points behind league leaders Sunderland, but they're still in a good place, and will be looking to get back on track when they travel to Millwall on Sunday.

Scott Parker will still be pleased with Burnley's start to the season

Article image:"People might not want to hear that" - Scott Parker reveals what Burnley FC must sort out

Dropping points at home against a QPR side in the relegation zone was a poor result for the Clarets, and while they've failed to win three of their last four games, it's still been a good start to the season for Parker's men.

After being relegated from the Premier League last season, it looked inevitable that Burnley would be there or thereabouts this year, but given the upheaval in the summer with a huge turnover in players, it meant that Parker had a job on his hands of getting players up to speed.

However, he's done that, and just one loss from their opening 12 games shows that they've made an excellent start to the season, despite some frustrating draws along the way.

If Burnley can find that cutting edge that was missing against QPR on Saturday, you'd be a brave person to bet against them winning promotion, and it might do them some good in the long run, as Parker talked about changing how they play.

With games against Millwall, West Brom and Swansea City to come before the international break, Parker will be looking to find the cutting edge they showed in the opening weeks of the season and put teams to the sword.

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