As the distance between Burnley and the two automatic promotion spots—which are now held by Leeds United and Sheffield United—keeps growing, Scott Parker has stated that he would not be concentrating on results elsewhere.
Burnley has been undefeated since early November, which is the longest streak in the Championship.
They have, however, frequently struggled to stay in the running for the league title due to a string of draws—14 to be exact—and the gap between them and second-place United grew to five points after Saturday afternoon’s disappointing 0-0 draw at rivals Preston North End.
In an attempt to close the gap and secure automatic promotion, the Clarets’ next game is against Sheffield Wednesday at Turf Moor tomorrow evening. The home team must win all three points.
| EFL Championship top-six standings, as of February 20 | ||||
| Position | Team | P | GD | Pts |
| 1st | Leeds United | 33 | +48 | 72 |
| 2nd | Sheffield United | 33 | +24 | 70 |
| 3rd | Burnley | 33 | +30 | 65 |
| 4th | Sunderland | 33 | +20 | 62 |
| 5th | Blackburn Rovers | 33 | +8 | 51 |
| 6th | West Bromwich Albion | 33 | +11 | 48 |
In order to catch up and go closer to the top two, they will eventually need other results to go their way. On Monday night, both teams will square off in a crucial match at Bramall Lane.
Scott Parker cautions the Burnley team not to focus on the outcomes of Leeds and Sheffield United.
Parker has stated that he will continue to be entirely focused on his team’s performance, calling Leeds’ and the Blades’ fortunes a “absolute irrelevance”.
The 44-year-old told the Burnley Express, “No, not really,” in response to a question about whether the growing difference could affect his team in any way.
“This morning, I told the players that I would never ride the rollercoaster that this league and this season will bring.
“At least this early in the season, I don’t really care what our rivals are doing. I find the actions of Sheffield United and Leeds to be completely irrelevant.
“We’re focused on the reality that we won’t succeed or reach our goals if we don’t win enough games to accrue enough points.
“We cannot spend a weekend riding that emotional rollercoaster while seeing what other teams are or are not doing. Whether the difference is five or six points, it doesn’t matter to me at all.
“Can we win every game we play? That’s the major goal. Can we score three points? And by the time April rolls around, everything might have changed. Do not misunderstand me.
However, there are currently 13 games remaining. You’re going to ask me this every single week, and I believe there are a ton of other tales and circumstances that we will encounter. It is what it is.
“We should go out and attempt to win as many games as we can.
“Aside from one team, we have little control over what the other teams do because we play them later in the season.
“Aside from that, we have no control over what a particular team does from one weekend to the next. However, we do have control over our ability to win football games by being as dominant and upbeat as possible.” The hard truth is that you must win games, as I mentioned. This year, you have to reach a specific milestone.
“That benchmark was established at the start of the season if you wish to advance. It is based on the teams that have participated in the Championship over the past ten years. It provides you with an approximate idea of where you should be if you reach a particular location.
“We need to keep churning out results and get some wins and see where that leads us.”
Burnley FC has a strong finish to the season.
Burnley’s run-in towards the end of the season looks favorable on paper and could give them an extra boost if teams like Leeds and Sheffield United drop points, even though it’s hard to look too far ahead and Parker will probably be especially keen for his team to just take it game-by-game.
In what will undoubtedly be a six-pointer for both teams, Burnley will host the Blades in their third-from-final match of the season on April 21. However, aside from that, they will only play West Bromwich Albion, a team that is currently in the top six. According to their individual fixture schedules, Leeds and the Blades have more challenging season finales.
At the beginning of March, the Clarets will play a number of teams near the bottom of the table, including Cardiff City and Luton Town in quick succession.
The obvious disclaimer is that Burnley has been outperformed by both Daniel Farke’s and Chris Wilder’s teams for the majority of the season, but the Clarets’ more.
The obvious disclaimer is that Burnley has been outperformed by Daniel Farke’s and Chris Wilder’s teams for the majority of the season. However, the Clarets’ more advantageous schedule may work in their favor and make it impossible to overlook results elsewhere as the season draws to a close.
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