Scott Parker said Burnley’s attempt to recover from relegation from the Premier League is a mental challenge after starting his reign in scintillating style with a counter-attacking masterclass to win 4-1 at Luton Town in their Championship opener.
Josh Brownhill and Wilson Odobert slotted in first-half goals for the Clarets, who responded to Tahith Chong giving Luton hope by scoring twice in nine minutes through Dara O’Shea’s header and Vitinho’s fierce finish to complete a rapid break from inside the visitors’ half.
“This is a team which has been relegated last year,” Parker told Sky Sports Football. “I’ve been in that situation many times before, not winning a lot of games.
“There’s a psychological element and to go from that to being a winning machine is tough. We had to dig deep and show another side as well as the tactical side, in certain moments.”
What a start for Burnley! ⚡
Josh Brownhill’s clinical finish gives the visitors the lead! pic.twitter.com/T6VtNEkerJ
— Sky Sports Football (@SkyFootball) August 12, 2024
Burnley: Championship win
Former England international Parker has won promotion from the second tier as a manager with Fulham and Bournemouth but had been out of football for almost 16 months before succeeding Vincent Kompany on July 5.
Championship winners in 2022-23, Burnley’s bid for Premier League safety rarely looked credible last season and the departure of Kompany to Bayern Munich left Parker with a considerable task during pre-season.
Luton were also relegated from the top flight following promotion, finishing two points above Burnley.
The Hatters had been slight favourites to start with a win, only for Burnley to finish the first round of fixtures as one of two teams to win by more than two goals alongside Sheffield Wednesday.
It gets even better for the visitors! 🤯
Vitinho finishes off a brilliant break from Burnley! 👏 pic.twitter.com/JOdJL1xiGD
— Sky Sports Football (@SkyFootball) August 12, 2024
Burnley goals: ‘A real threat’
“I said to the players, at times, we’re going to have to revert back to men,” Parker said, calling Vitinho’s goal “incredible”. “I was proud of them for that.
“We were deadly in transitions and looked a real threat. I wanted the team to be really aggressive in the front line. There was a big responsibility on the [attackers] to be fluid.”
Burnley are next in action when they host Cardiff City, who lost their opener 2-0 to Sunderland, on Saturday (3pm).
On the same day (12.30pm), Luton visit a Portsmouth side who secured a last-gasp 3-3 draw at Leeds United.
