Scott Parker has discussed how his Burnley side are going into the Mansfield Town game “with a real full squad”.
The Clarets are fighting for their lives in the Premier League but kept their hopes alive by beating Crystal Palace 3-2.
Parker will likelybe hoping that it can be a springboard for his side to close the nine-point gap between themselves and Nottingham Forest.
However, Burnley will have to put their Premier League survival hopes to one side as they host League One side Mansfield Town in the FA Cup.
The Stags are 12th in the third tier but are still only seven points above Burton Albion in 21st, although they have a game in hand to play.
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They are a potential banana skin for Burnley, but Parker has insisted his side are focused on the FA Cup tie ahead.
Parker, “the next game is our next focus”
Speaking to the media ahead of the game, Parker has said:
“The next game is our next focus. Our performance in the last round was very, very good and that gave us momentum.
“We’re looking forward to this game, and it gives the players an opportunity as well.
“This is a gamewe’re going to approach and competition I hold real value in.We’re going to go in there and put in a good performance, and hopefully we can get through to the next round.”
Parker was also asked about potential squad rotation ahead of the game. Hedidn’t give much away, but did allude to potential squad rotation but reassured Burnley fans it will be a strong team:
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“There’s balance to it, and that definitely is the case thatwe’ll make some changes here to freshen things up and give playerswho’ve maybe not had a lot of football to give them football to keep them up to speed.
“We’re going with a real full squad, butwe’ll try and get a real balance for it.”
Who Might Feature for Burnley Against Mansfield Town?
One player who could feature against Mansfield is new signing James Ward-Prowse. The midfielder joined on loan from West Ham in January until the end of the season.
Ward-Prowse made his first appearance for the Clarets as a substitute against Palace midweek. He played 13 minutes in that game and could be in line to start against the Stags.
When asked about the former Southampton midfielder, the Burnley boss said:
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“I was really pleased he came on the other night, and I thought the time and the dynamics of the game when he came on, you could see the experience.
“Soit’s another opportunity for him to get minutes because hehasn’t played a lot of football.”
Another player who could get some first-team minutes against Mansfield Town is 36-year-old Ashley Barnes.
The forward started against Millwall in the last round, scoring two goals inBurnley’s 5-1 win. He received a Sofascore rating of 7.6 for his performance, and hecould lead the line against Mansfield.