Burnley secured their first win of the Premier League season against Sunderland at Turf Moor on Saturday
Scott Parker spoke of his pride in his Burnley players after they got their Premier League campaign up and running against Sunderland on Saturday afternoon.
Here’s everything the Burnley boss said in his post-match press conference...
"Yeah, I'm delighted, really,” Parker said.
“I'm absolutely buzzing, first and foremost, for the players and for the fans and everyone involved. I thought we were brilliant today. I thought it was everything we are going to need to be. It's obviously a big chance for them early on with a great save from Martin and then I thought for the large part that I asked the lads today to show a real endeavour, to show an impetus, to get the supporters right behind us. And I thought we did that. I thought it was well worthy of the three points. Rock solid, soaked up some pressure. It was well worthy of the goal, winning the second goal, a counter-attack goal. And then defended our goal for a clean sheet, which was massive as well.
How key was the timing of the first goal especially?
Yeah, it was. It was disappointing with the goal that obviously didn't stand for us. It was quite soft. And I thought we were going 1-0 ahead at the time.
It’s always a challenge to come out at half-time, we wanted to try and set about it again. We got off to a great start. And then the dynamic [of defending a lead] sometimes..our structure today was very good. I thought we defended very, very well and then we hit them on the counter. It was a lovely finish from Jadon, which probably gave us some oxygen, to be honest with you. Like always in these games, 1-0, pressure's coming, they can commit more men. And we needed to soak it up, which we did very, very well. It was diligent. And then obviously hit them on the counter, which gave us some air in.
You showed last season that when you get your nose in front, you can keep teams out?
Yeah, like always, we need to be comfortable being uncomfortable at certain moments. And I thought there was elements... This is a brand new back unit. It's a new keeper, new players. It is going to take time. What pleased me the most was, obviously, I see some real traits from last year. And that's work on the training field. And yeah, I thought we were very, very solid in that.
Josh Cullen is a bit of an EFL legend, but how pleasing is it that in the Premier League with the world watching, he can do it at this level as well?
Yeah, I'm delighted for Josh. I thought he was incredible. And he is incredible, to be honest with you. He's got every trait in him that I appreciate. He's got every trait in him that I respect. This is a guy that is heart, soul, he's got everything about him. I'm pleased with the way he went about it. He set us on our way, really and then got an assist. So I'm delighted for Josh, really. He led us today like the captain should. He leads us every day in training as well. So I'm pleased for him.
Scott, you've been in this position before bringing teams up. I know you take points wherever you can get them, home or away. But how important is it for newly promoted teams to make the home a fortress?
It's massively important. I think that was my main message to the lads today leading into this game. The main thing is with our first home game, we need to make these fans believe. We need to make them feel or illustrate to our fans what we're capable of this year. And I often say to the players that eyes don't lie. People come to football stadiums and your eyes don't lie. And what your eyes don't lie is they see a group of men that run, are committed, have a desire and a passion.
And for that, I think the majority of our supporters will always forgive. Bad touch, bad technique, will forgive bad performances through just the lack of something. But what they will never forgive and what I won't forgive is a desire and a passion. And I ask the players, like, this is our first game. This is our opportunity for our fans to see what belief we have as a group, really. I thought our fans were superb. I thought our players give them that belief, really. And I thought for large parts, it was every bit of that, really. And they're going to be vitally important this year. As a football club, I can't do this on my own. These 20, 30-odd players can't do this on their own. It's going to need the whole football club to support, to get behind us, to buckle in at times for the bumpy road and the challenge that we face. And with that, as a whole unit and a whole football club organisation, we give ourselves a fighting chance, really, and that's probably the main message.
How different was it preparing for Sunderland today compared to last season?
It was different in terms of personnel.The main structure of their team is probably very similar. There's not much in terms of the way they play and their structure to what they play at. But look, they've recruited very well, they've spent an awful amount of money and they've brought in some very, very good players. So, yeah, I think there was more of a challenge identifying their key players or their key traits and what they bring. In terms of structure-wise, it was very, very similar.
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