Scott Parker: Burnley boss says anxiety in Derby County draw caused by poor decision-making

Burnley manager Scott Parker says an anxious atmosphere around Turf Moor during their goalless Championship draw against Derby County was caused by poor decision-making.

The Clarets had a frustrating setback in their automatic promotion aspirations after they failed to breach the Rams’ defence in a game short of attacking quality.

Despite the result, however, Parker’s side third in the table, are unbeaten in seven games and only two points off leaders Leeds United.

“I felt it in the stadium – I’m sure the players did as well. I’m really conscious of that and I’m trying to explain to them about their emotional state,” Parker told BBC Radio Lancashire.

“We’ve come here as a group, and the fans included, expecting and wanting to win the game. We endeavoured to try and do that but we fell short.

“The back end [of the match] the anxiety of what it was was players making poor decisions out of pure desperation, nothing other than a desperate bunch of men trying their hardest but falling short because of the decisions they were making.”

Burnley fell narrowly short of victory but are still in the hunt for a top-two spot and an immediate return to the Premier League with the midway point of the season approaching, but Parker said his players are upset they could not clinch all three points against Derby.

“The hardest part of the game in certain moments is looking for a bit of quality and brilliance that unlocks the door for you,” he added.

“At times we’ve fallen short and that’s my responsibility as a coach to help this group and ensure we’re better.

“Like always, we’ll be relentless in the pursuit of that and so will the lads. They are absolutely devastated in that sense.”