Scott Parker reacts to Leeds United 'narrative' as Burnley boss hits back at 'boring' tag
Burnley manager Scott Parker disagrees with the suggestion that his Clarets side are a boring watch in the Championship this season, following the drab 0-0 draw against Leeds United on Monday evening.
The two sides cancelled each other out at Turf Moor earlier this week with Parker insisting Burnley's intention was to replicate their 5-0 victory against Plymouth Argyle last time out, but simply they were unable. Leeds and Burnley mustered a combined 0.55 Expected Goals (xG) which indicates on the balance of chances created, only one goal would be expected to have been scored if the two teams went up against each for 180 rather than 90 minutes.
Quizzed on the suggestion his Burnley outfit haven't been very entertaining this term, Parker hit back: “It was only a week ago we scored five goals against Plymouth. Maybe some will just sit there and easily say, ‘oh well, that's probably what should happen’. If only the game was that easy.
“Yes, we scored goals there and on Monday night, we don't score against Leeds, who are top of the league.
“It’s a team that averages around 1.8-2 goals per game, but we reduced them to about 0.37 [xG]", Parker added.
The two-time promotion-winning manager does have a point. Leeds' xG at Turf Moor was the lowest they have managed in a single fixture all season, which means Burnley were effective in their attempts to thwart Farke's men.
"I get they're just numbers, but we didn't score against Leeds and quickly the narrative swings that we're a really boring team.
“That was the game, it wasn't a classic. I'm not going to sit here and deny that. I get that totally.
“Was that intention or was that our intention to go into that game? No, our intention was to go into that game fundamentally to put a marker down for us to replicate what we did against Plymouth. But we didn't, we didn't manage to do that.
“What we did manage to do was pretty incredible on the defensive side of things. What we didn't manage to execute was us trying to be a bit of a threat, but we keep working on that.”
Burnley have not conceded a goal in seven consecutive Championship matches as Parker's side plot an immediate return to the Premier League and have allowed just nine all season - a staggering figure. The Clarets currently sit third in the table with Leeds, Sheffield United and Sunderland all tightly packed within the top four.