Burnley manager Scott Parker promised to keep fighting after some fans called for his dismissal during a 2-0 home defeat to relegation rivals West Ham which pushed the Clarets closer to the drop.
West Ham scored with their first two attempts at goal through Crysencio Summerville and Taty Castellanos, and there were few signs that Burnley – without a league win in 16 games dating back to October – had the quality to turn it around.
While West Ham moved to within three points of Nottingham Forest, Burnley are 11 points from safety and another immediate return to the Championship appears inevitable.
Patience is running out at Turf Moor. When substitute Jacob Bruun Larsen tried to fire up the crowd while warming up late in the first half, they responded by chanting ‘You’re not fit to wear the shirt’. Moments later, they followed it with ‘We want Parker out’.
Asked if he was still the right man to take Burnley forward, Parker responded with a passionate speech.
“I’m a fighter,” the former England midfielder said. “I’ve experienced a lot of things in my life and I’ve been through a lot of adversity and I’ve been through a lot of challenges.
“There’s one thing I hold firmly…, there’s a foundation and an absolute rock that this is built on. In these moments of adversity I will not waver. I will always stand up, and I will always represent that to this group…
“I’m really sorry at this present moment in time we’re going through a tough time. There’s a certain type that in these moments don’t face up to that. Whether we fail or we don’t fail, we come through this for sure…
“I’m really sorry that I can’t promise we’ll be better for it with a win or with staying in this division but the longer the journey is we will be better for it.”
Parker said the atmosphere inside the ground affected his team, who rarely managed to impose themselves on a West Ham side who did not need to play particularly well to take only their second away win in 11.
“If your team concedes a goal, you’re going to boo and I understand their frustration, I totally understand it,” Parker said. “But I just didn’t think that helped us.”
West Ham have now won three of their last four to give themselves hope of escaping trouble, but Nuno Espirito Santo is not looking too far ahead.
“We go day by day,” he said. “It was an important match for us. We knew the responsibility that we have, that we had in this match, and we still have. Let’s go day by day. It’s a good game…
“I think we started really well. It’s been this way for some time now, I think the team is growing. I’m really pleased with the way we defend, the way we contained Burnley. And if we can solve our problems in defence we have very talented players that can help the team.”
Summerville has now scored in his last five appearances in all competitions.
“He’s in a good moment,” Nuno said. “It’s not only the goals, but the work that he does, the threat that he possesses.”
