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Scott Parker was full of praise for his Burnley players, despite the Clarets succumbing to yet another stoppage-time Premier League defeat against Liverpool at Turf Moor.
Mohamed Salah’s 95th minute spot-kick won it for the champions, on an afternoon when Burnley once again showed all the hallmarks of a Parker side, competing superbly across the 90-plus minutes to keep the Reds at bay - until the late, late drama.
Parker was in reflective mood at full-time, commenting: “My overriding feeling is one of pride. We were brilliant against an incredible side.
“Of course I’m gutted, absolutely gutted. Football can be a cruel game at times - and we’ve learnt that the hard way in our last two Premier League fixtures, but I’m immensely proud of the group.”
When pushed on the penalty decision, awarded after Hannibal was adjudged to have handled the ball in the box, Parker added: “I don’t really want to discuss the penalty to be honest.
“The ball came at him at possibly 70-80mph from three yards away, so I can’t fault Hanni at all.
“I think my biggest takeaway of that decision is that maybe we’ve got to look at coaching players to block balls with their arms behind their backs now. That’s new to us all but it’s where the game is.”
All in all, Parker couldn’t fault his players, however, concluding: “We showed great character and resilience, like we’ve done in every game this season.
“We had a game plan that the lads executed well throughout the 90 minutes. We stifled them, we were well organised and well drilled. We went toe to toe with them in the way we had to today.
“We’re a young, developing side but we’ve shown we can compete and compete well against the very best teams in this league.
“We had to survive at times. We didn’t tap out. We went to places some teams wouldn’t be able to go to. I can’t fault the players at all. I’m immensely proud of them all.”
He added: “We’re all absolutely gutted right now but in the cold light of day, we will see this as a day of more positive learnings. I’m leaving the stadium tonight with more positive feelings than negative.
“I see things in this team that I know gives us a chance in every game. We’ve got something about us which tells me we’re heading in the right direction as a group.”