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The Burnley manager has discussed his side’s Premier League promotion battle with Sheffield United and Leeds United.
Scott Parker will hope to land the third promotion of his managerial career as he aims to lead Burnley back into the Premier League.
The Clarets boss is something of a veteran when it comes to mounting a successful challenge for promotion into the top flight of English football after guiding two of his former clubs into the Premier League in recent seasons. Parker was in charge of Fulham when the Cottagers battled through a play-off semi-final against Cardiff City to set up a Wembley date with a dangerous Brentford side. Neither side could break the deadlock over a tense 90 minutes before an extra-time brace from Joe Bryan helped Fulham see off the Bees, who threatened a late comeback when Henrik Dalsgaard found the net in the fourth minute of injury-time.
After leaving Craven Cottage at the end of the following season, Parker was immediately appointed as manager of a Bournemouth side still reeling from relegation back into the Championship just 18 months earlier. The current Clarets boss oversaw a remarkable upturn in fortunes after succeeding Jonathan Woodgate at the Vitality Stadium and they secured promotion as runners-up to former club Fulham after claiming a 1-0 win against Nottingham Forest on the penultimate weekend of the season.
After claiming promotion via the play-offs and as runners-up in the Championship, Parker still has a strong chance of securing the first second tier title of his playing career this season as his side prepare to resume their push for the top tier next weekend. Burnley are currently sat just two points behind leaders Leeds United and second placed Sheffield United - although they will face a severe challenge when they return from the international break with a tough-looking double header against play-off candidates Bristol City and Coventry City.
Ahead of a crucial run of fixtures over the last two months of the season, Parker revealed he is hoping to fall back upon his experience of securing promotion as a manager and believes that can help give his side an edge when the tensions rise during the final weeks of the campaign.
What has the Burnley manager said?
He told The Express: “I hope [it will help]. That is my main job really. So while this squad has some experience of being in this position, the majority have not. The majority of players here are young players, good players, very, very good players with big quality. But there's a lot of players that have probably not been at the back end of this division and what this division throws up - the sort of stability and the understanding of the dynamics of what this division brings and certainly what you need at this part of the season.
“I've been in this division twice now and they're the same traits [that you need]. They're the same things that keep coming up. That's probably right at the front of my mind when I'm obviously speaking to the group, the group understanding that, and that will be key.”
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