Scott Parker believes it’s too early in the season to be making any definitive judgements on why the newly-promoted sides are performing better than usual.
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Sunderland sit ninth in the Premier League table after seven games, while Burnley’s upcoming opponents Leeds United are outside the relegation zone in 15th.
While the Clarets languish inside the bottom three with just four points to their name, they’ve been given a gruelling fixture list to start the campaign and have at least shown they can compete.
But now the challenge for Parker’s side is to get some points on the board, starting with Leeds this weekend before a trip to Molineux next week to face bottom side Wolves.
When asked why the newly-promoted teams are doing better this season, after back-to-back campaigns of all six going straight back down, Parker said: “Maybe there's an element or an understanding of seeing what's happened previously and knowing what's probably needed.
“I would say though it's still very early in the season as well, so I couldn't really put my finger on that.
“There's a lot of variables that could suggest why some teams have done well or why they've been hugely competitive. Partly it could be that people have seen where the Premier League's evolving and where you need to be very good or what you need to be good at for a team that's just coming up into this division.”
Burnley boss Scott Parker (Photo by George Wood/Getty Images)placeholder image
Burnley boss Scott Parker (Photo by George Wood/Getty Images)
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While Leeds have won plenty of plaudits for their start to the season, a Burnley win on Saturday takes them within a point of Daniel Farke’s side.
“That's it really,” Parker added. “My main focus, as always just in general life, is I focus on the here and now.
“I don't worry about what's down the road or the what-ifs, what happens if you lose this amount of games. The fine margins that certainly at this point in the season are exactly that. “Fundamentally, you fall back on what you need to be to get a result. What sort of habits and what sort of commitment you need to get a result and that would be the main driver.”
While the significance of today’s game isn’t lost on Parker, he refuses to attach any undue pressure on the encounter.
“It’s an important game, for sure,” he conceded.
“But every game is important and it's a bit cliche, I get that. It might sound a bit fluffy. But the facts are that Leeds [is an important game], Sunderland was an important game - two games into the start of the season, it was a massive game for us. Liverpool at home was a massive game.
“We're that early on into the season. Our focus last year and our mantra last year was to take each game as it comes. Otherwise you get drowned by the journey or the fixtures coming up. You lose a little bit of sight.
“Certainly, a psychological element as well can have an effect, so we're going to this game fully committed. Whether it was Leeds, whoever it was in this division, it's going to be a tough game ahead of us. We need to bring the best version of ourselves, as always.”
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