Burnley boss sends Championship promotion warning as Leeds United comparison made
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Scott Parker hopes to develop a ‘winning machine’ at Burnley ahead of what he expects to be one of the most competitive Championship promotion races in recent memory.
Parker was appointed Burnley head coach earlier this summer after Vincent Kompany’s shock move to take over at Bayern Munich, having failed to keep the Clarets afloat. The Belgian was financially backed a year ago but managed just five league wins, with only two victories during the second-half of the season in which they were fighting for their lives.
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Hide AdFlipping that losing mindset on its head has proven one of the biggest tasks for managers dropping into the second-tier, but Parker has two promotions under his belt and hopes to breed confidence among his deflated squad. And the former Fulham and Bournemouth boss is under no illusions regarding the task at hand, expecting a similar level of quality to his first campaign at Fulham in which Leeds United claimed the title under Marcelo Bielsa.
“You look at the division this year and there are probably 10 or 12 teams that are wanting to be in and around the play-offs, perhaps even more,” Parker told The Burnley Express. “There are teams who are in this division now for their second season and there’s the three teams coming down, who are all going to be hugely competitive.
“It’s probably similar to my first season at Fulham (2019/20) when the league was a very competitive league with Leeds, Brentford, West Brom, real strong sides. I probably see it quite similar this year. Like always, no matter of talent gets you out of this league. While it helps, of course it does, it can be the difference maker in certain games and in certain moments, what is key with the amount of games you play and the turnaround is developing far more as a team to get you over the line.
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Hide Ad“That’s been my main focus really. This is a team last year that has been relegated and obviously lost a lot of games - and that’s no slight on Vincent because I’ve been in that exact same position in the Premier League, not winning a lot of games, but there’s no denying in certain moments the most important thing is to build that back up. We need to get to a point where we’re a winning machine really and we need to change that mindset in certain instances.”
Burnley will have their chance to get off the mark when they face fellow relegated team Luton Town at Kenilworth Road this evening. Both sides will expect to be challenging Leeds for a top-two spot come May, with the obvious financial benefits that come with a year in the Premier League.
Leeds got off to a stuttering start with Saturday’s dramatic 3-3 draw at home to Portsmouth, relying on Brenden Aaronson’s 95th-minute equaliser after Portsmouth’s late penalty looked to have snatched victory. Daniel Farke’s side face Middlesbrough in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday before their first away-day of the season at West Brom on Saturday.