Scott Parker always knew he was in for some “pain” in the Premier League – but the Burnley boss believes he might be the victim of his own success.
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Scott Parker fields further questions about his position as Burnley boss after c...](https://www.burnleyexpress.net/sport/football/scott-parker-fields-further-questions-about-his-position-as-burnley-boss-after-cup-upset-5604738 "Scott Parker fields further questions about his position as Burnley boss after cup upset")
The Clarets boss is coming under increasing scrutiny after his side’s Premier League woes were compounded by an embarrassing FA Cup upset last week.
While Burnley are nine points adrift of safety in the league with only 12 games remaining, they did inject some long-overdue positivity last week with a comeback 3-2 victory over Crystal Palace.
Heading into today’s trip to Chelsea, during the embargoed section of Thursday’s press conference, Parker was asked a number of questions about his position, Burnley’s struggles and how he deals with the difficult times, having endured similar experiences at both Fulham and Bournemouth.
Here’s what he had to say:
How do you deal with the noise and the tough times?
Burnley boss Scott Parker is coming under increasing pressure (Photo by Paul Currie / AFP via Getty Images)placeholder image
Burnley boss Scott Parker is coming under increasing pressure (Photo by Paul Currie / AFP via Getty Images)
“I suppose I'm quite a realist, first and foremost, and I have an understanding of the situation.
“I remember saying to my wife last year after the Sheffield United game [when Burnley got promoted], walking onto the pitch and everyone was happy and I walked onto the pitch and I was whispering in her ear: ‘get ready for the pain’.
“That's the cold, hard facts and that was always going to be the case - and that has been the story so far for me.
“At 45 years of age, with three promotions with three different clubs, that success has clearly been there and it's that what I hold onto.
“I have full belief and confidence in what I do. Not many people have done at 45 years of age what I've managed to do.
“With a team coming up from the Championship, it's always going to be difficult and that's where I get back to the realism of things.
“Now, there's a challenge there, full stop and people want to say something totally different. The facts are, the reality is a team coming up from the Championship, going into the big wide world of Premier League, there is one humongous challenge.
“I experienced that for four games at Bournemouth and lost my job and I've experienced that now here at this moment in time. Where that cycle for me personally, and certainly that cycle in terms of what this is, is very clear for me. So I understand that.
“I've said it before, I'm a fighter, and I understand what's needed in these moments and they're something that I bear down on consistently.
“There's always going to be some bumps in the road and people have choices to make. Nine times out of 10, like I've said many a time, the choices that sometimes people make are the easy ones: to point fingers, blame, or give up or get a short-term fix out of something to relieve, to blame, or to be critical and it gives them a self-satisfaction.
“Really what the determinant of a character, or certainly for me, for large parts of my life is, I always fall back on first and foremost, it's me and this is the journey. This is how it is.
“You fall back on something which is being consistent, which I say many a time and you guys will probably get bored of it. But it's a cold hard fact and that's how I get through it.”
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Do you consider yourself cursed or lucky?
“I'm blessed. But sometimes you can be the victim of your own success.
“That success came last year on 100 points, 16 goals conceded and 33 games unbeaten. But as quickly as you're successful, you go into the next level and the next stage, which is obviously a huge challenge.
“Sometimes in this world, what we're in, in terms of what I do and what we do, that just literally can go and that's just the way it is.
“I don't see it like that. But we lose context. We lose anything and I think that noise becomes a bit greater and that's just how it is.
“But yeah, I'm blessed, by the way, from your question in terms of I'm absolutely blessed. I'm fortunate.”
It looks like Leeds and Sunderland could both stay up…
“We could take learning from that, for sure. And again, if you maybe look a bit deeper and people want to look a bit deeper and really analyse it and not just see it, then maybe there'll be some things that you could see that stand out why that may have been the case.
“That’s not something we will do at this moment in time, no chance, because we're still in this. We still have a fighting chance in this.
“But for sure, there will be an exception from the rule. I think it's the last two seasons every team that has come up into the Premier League have been relegated.
“So for sure, if we don't manage to do that and if these teams manage to stay up, on reflection and certainly on looking back and learning, it'll be something to look into.”
Do you still feel like you’ve barely started your management career?
“This is my life and I'm pretty good at it. I must be. That's just how I... I'm good at it.
“I understand the journey of it and like I said, I’m a realist of the bumps and a real realist of how it works. But that will never dent me.
“Of course, you take some bumps and you take some knocks along the way. But I'll always keep coming back because that's just the way it is.”
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