Scott Parker spoke to the media this afternoon ahead of Burnley’s trip to Fulham tomorrow.Read MoreBurnley FC to introduce digital season tickets - but here's who is exemptThe Clarets go in search of what would be just a second win from their last 22 league games to boost their admittedly slim survival hopes.Despite an improved performance against Bournemouth last time out, the result did little for Burnley’s survival hopes, with the gap to safety remaining at nine points, but now with only eight games remaining.Ahead of Saturday’s encounter at Craven Cottage, Parker was asked about Fulham – his former club – as well as his repeated claim that he’s overseeing a “young squad”.Here’s a selection of what he had to say:How have Fulham been able to establish themselves in the Premier League?Burnley boss Scott Parker (Photo by Molly Darlington/Getty Images)“I think, like anything, you look at those teams, or you look at teams that come up from the Championship, and clearly, from the outset, there's a clear challenge there - which we've obviously brought up many a time over the last couple of years. That's been proven and I think there's many, many different facets to it.“You know, there isn’t just one thing. When people ask the question is: why is it that this team have come up from the Championship and managed to stay? There'll be many, many reasons, whether that's recruitment, whether that's the amount of expenditure they've been able to put into the football club to add quality, whether that is the general processes that have taken place in that moment.“It's probably just, they've probably done things the right way, largely being investment, and then probably the way they've gone about things.“There's probably a lot of boxes that they've ticked, and that's a big, big challenge when you're coming up from the Championship, because those challenges are there over every, every facet of the football club, and you need a lot of things to fall into place. Of course you do.“You need to make brilliant decisions and at certain moments, you need the financial support to give you a real fighting chance at certain moments.“You'll probably see that in those teams that have managed to stay, or have managed to be in there for a period of time, have been able to slowly progress through that.”Have you had those things in your toolbox here at Burnley?“Well no, that probably isn't the case. But I don't think it’s a case of a lack of trying. “Sometimes you're just given things that, certain things are not physically possible, and you need to work with that.“You know, while I think if we all sat in this room saying: ‘okay, what do we need to have, or what do you need to do to give yourself a real, real chance of gaining results, and being competitive, and staying in this division?’, there's certain things that you just physically can't do.“Now, there's other things that you can do, process-wise, you can do, recruitment-wise, definitely. But there's loads of things that you can't do, and they're the challenges for any team that are coming up into this division.“And at that moment, I think I said it last week, at times this year, it's clear that we're going to have to over-perform consistently in this division, to obviously give ourselves a real chance, and we've still got a chance.“There's 24 points to play for in this division, with eight games left. Now, we can look at this one way or another. We can look at this and think we're dead and buried, and this is going to be one huge challenge. You could look at it the other way, and I'm someone, and this squad, for sure, is someone, and that's a message I'm constantly delivering with 24 points to play. You know, this is exactly what we're going for.“So the bigger picture, and the bigger dialogue, and the bigger conversations are probably happening at the end of the season, and that's like any season.“You know, last year, for instance, you don't get promoted, there's big conversations, but there's still conversations going on when you get promoted, so that'll probably happen at the end of the season, when you look back and work out what you should have done, work out what you should have done, but you couldn't have done. There's loads of things like that.”The Burnley Express has launched a new WhatsApp channel to bring the latest news, analysis and team & injury updates directly to your phone. Simply click this link to join our Burnley Express WhatsApp channel.Are your players learning on the job in the Premier League?“Definitely, yes.“I think, like I've said before, for a large part of this group, this is a new experience. Even when you put the experienced guys into this, it's a new experience as well.“I always knew along this season, along this journey this year, this will be a mental one for us, for sure. I knew that would be the biggest thing for us and that's probably transpired a little bit.“There's been a lot of noise and there's been different dynamics, but I've only added to that and I probably had an idea of that.“I think what was key is us to stay really, really level in this moment while we're searching and while we're fighting and while we keep trying to improve. It's trying to keep that mental side of things a rock-solid, concrete-head stuff, really, because there's been some dynamics this year that have been very, very difficult for this young group to play in.“I think they've done remarkably well under those circumstances at times, so we need to maintain that while also trying to get points as well and improving.”Clarify comments about Burnley’s young squad [it was pointed out it’s the fourth oldest]“I think there's probably two or three players that bring that average age up drastically in terms of Walks [Kyle Walker] and Martin Dubravka.“Generally you look at our squad, it's a young squad, it's a young squad in age and it's a young squad in terms of Premier League experiences and in terms of them having an understanding of what the Premier League brings at certain moments, they're young in that.”Have you seen positive development since the start of the season?“I've seen elements of positive things. I've seen an inconsistency as well at the same time, just when you think you see improvements, there's been times when we've been inconsistent in that and, yeah, I suppose that goes back to just us generally.“When you're searching for certain things and you're trying to search for different things, obviously change at times don't bring consistency, for sure.“I think at certain moments, just in terms of the squad, that consistency has not really been there.“So while I've seen improvements, I think it's clear that there's not been enough because obviously we've not managed to, at certain moments, pick up the points or get the results, what sometimes we've deserved.“We've certainly got the results we've deserved when it's gone the other way as well, so these are the challenges constantly. These have been the challenges this year.“And like I said, we constantly maintain a certain stomach in this group. We need to definitely improve in some parts as well.”Can you pinpoint the improvements you've seen?“Well, I think for large parts of this year, I think over the course of it, I think we've been hugely competitive in the majority of games and we started this season in terms of the structure and the way we played.“I thought we had some really good bits and we were on the fine end of the fine margins, which people don't want to hear constantly. The fine margins were clearly there and that's what they were.“We dropped points in certain moments through, like I've said before, I feel like a broken record for a last-minute penalty or whatever it may be.“Defensively, at times, we've fallen short and then on other times, defensively, we've looked pretty solid.“We come out the back of Anfield, going away from Anfield. Defensively, we were brilliant. We have Liverpool at home where defensively, we're brilliant and against these top sides, which no one would have expected us to go to Anfield and get a result.“Now, of course, that gets blurred and that gets forgotten about when you don't pick up results against the teams that maybe we'd have expected to and that's probably where we've fallen a little bit short and we've never really maintained or ever got any sort of momentum. As soon as we've got momentum, it is falling down on us a little bit.“So I see certain improvements for sure, but as always, maybe I sit in this position, in a weak position, because obviously the amount of points what we're at, I get that's difficult.”Is it time to throw caution to the wind, especially towards the end of games?“I think you're right. I think we've tried that as well in terms of, you know, caution to the wind, they're the constant decisions you're trying to make in terms of it.“I wish it was just as easy as just throwing six forwards on and doing that. There's a bit more to it than just that. But for sure, you're right, we're at the stage now where we need to get three points.“We need to win football matches to give ourselves any chance of staying in this division, hence why we've probably changed a little bit in terms of our structure and that. But, yeah, I think that's fair to say.”Clarifying last week’s “I may have to be sacrificed” comments“What I meant by sacrifice was in the job that I do, or any manager that they do, obviously a lot of that responsibility and all of that frustration and noise falls right on your lap really.“What I meant by sacrifice is this young group here, not only my responsibility in the way I am as a person and the way I am as a coach, my responsibility is not just a coach and us trying to gain points, which is fundamentally the first and foremost thing that I want to do, is to mentor, is to develop, is to protect as much as I can this young group.“At certain moments, if that means the spotlight and that sacrifice and that stick comes on me, then that's what I'm willing to do.“I'm never going to sit here and not protect this group. I'm never going to sit here with short-sightedness of certain things when I know the whole situation, when I can see the whole situation.“I can see at times the quality. I can see at times the psychological element it has on the group. I'm here to help them and protect them in certain moments and develop them and make them better people for that. So that's what I meant by sacrifice. That sacrifice comes at my lap.“Then I walk off the pitch and I'm the one that's obviously going to get the grief. I'm really comfortable with that. I'm really, really comfortable with that.“I'm really comfortable in my own skin and I'm comfortable with putting my head on a pillow every night, knowing that I can sleep, knowing that I'm developing this, at times, this young group and I know they're going to be better for that.“If it means in the short term, in the long term, that that sacrifice is on me, then I'm comfortable with that.”Continue Reading