Manager criticises 'pure desperation' as familiar issue fuels fan dissent at Leeds United's Championship promotion rivals

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Two of Leeds United’s Championship promotion rivals dropped points on Tuesday.

Scott Parker believes his Burnley side are ‘trying too hard’ to score after failing to find the net once again in their disappointing 0-0 draw at home to Derby County.

Two points dropped for the Clarets capped off an excellent night for Leeds United, who dispatched Middlesbrough with a 3-1 win just minutes after two of their key promotion rivals fell short. Sunderland needed a 93rd-minute goal to draw 1-1 at home to Bristol City, while Burnley couldn’t find a way through a Derby side who lost 2-0 at Elland Road last weekend.

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Burnley started well at Turf Moor and had a first-half penalty shout turned away, but frustration grew as familiar issues resurfaced. A three-game goalless run earlier in the season put Parker under pressure inside sections of the fanbase and following Tuesday’s full-time whistle, there were some boos inside the stadium.

“We’re gutted really. We’re disappointed tonight,” Parker said. “We came here with one aim – to win the game – and we just fell a little bit short. Credit to Derby, they’ve come here and done a really good job. We just lacked a little bit in the final third in certain moments of our decision making. You get one goal and maybe the game opens up, but we fell a little bit short on that really.

“We had some good opportunities in the first half when the game was open. You get a goal then and maybe the game looks a little bit different. But the longer the game goes on, the anxiety around the stadium reflected that on the pitch for us and we start making poor decisions out of pure desperation.

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“I can’t fault my players for their endeavour. If anything, they’re trying too hard. They’re making decisions that are wrong out of pure desperation to try to score a goal and try to win the game – it’s naive on our behalf. It may just be the fact it’s a young group, some of whom have not experienced this. This is a rollercoaster of a Championship and for sure we need to get a little bit better at it.”

Scoring goals has often been the issue keeping Burnley from usurping Leeds, Sheffield United or Sunderland in the automatic promotion places for a prolonged period. Parker’s side have conceded just seven goals in 20 games - by far the fewest - but have often come up short going forward.

Up until Tuesday, they had scored in five straight games - a run which yielded 13 points - but prior to that they took two points from three games in which they failed to score a single time. Burnley have now failed to score in seven Championship games, more than Leeds or Sheffield United.

That point leaves Burnley third in the Championship, a point behind Sheffield United having played a game more. Leeds’ victory over Middlesbrough saw them go top, two points above the Blades and three ahead of Parker’s Clarets.

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