Parker: ‘Burnley missed Lyle Foster during AFCON’

Burnley FC manager Scott Parker has explained how the Premier League strugglers missed South African striker Lyle Foster’s services when he was at the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) finals in Morocco.

Foster came off the bench to score what appeared the winner for the Clarets during a Premier League game against Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday. It was the Johannesburg-born attacker’s first goal since returning from AFCON where he represented Bafana Bafana and scored two goals and provided two assists.

Receiving a pass on the edge of the box, the 25-year-old fired home from a rebound after his initial shot was punched onto his path at a packed Tour Moor in the 76th minute. The Clarets’ other initial goal came from Congolese defender Alex Tuanzebe.

However, the visitors found their way into the contest late in the game through Cristian Romero’s strike for the two teams to share the spoils at 2-2. It was the third goal in 16 Premier League appearances this season for the Bafana Bafana forward.

Why Scott Parker is pleased with Foster

In a post-match interview, the Clarets boss highlighted the impact of the former Orlando Pirates.

“I was pleased for Lyle,” Parker told Burnley FC website. “He made a big difference when he came on and was in the right place at the right time to score a good goal. We missed him when he was at AFCON. He’s a big threat. The subs made a really positive impact, which is hugely pleasing.”

“Of course, I understand we need to get wins here—but we continue to move in the right direction. We’ve got an unbelievably tight group. I’ve not seen any edginess or nerves despite the situation we find ourselves in. We’ve improved massively. We’re improving all the time. We’ll keep going.”

Parker rued his team’s defensive weakness that often sees them conceding late.

“It’s the finest of margins at this level. We’ve spoken about it a lot this season but it’s what the Premier League is all about,” the manager added.

“We’re learning, there’s some real positives to take – and that gives me unbelievable hope. We need to turn draws into wins but there also needs to be some perspective of what we’re coming up against in this hugely competitive division.”

Burnley face a huge threat of relegation as they lie second from the bottom with 15 points from 23 games, seven points ahead of basement side Wolverhampton Wanderers.