That was pretty close to a perfect afternoon
AIt was Burnley’s day in the FA Cup at Fulham and a day that left their manager Scott Parker to concentrate on the league for the remainder of the season.
Parker admitted after the game that the best team won through to the fifth round. “We didn’t deserve a result today,” he said. “It was a tough game and we couldn’t match what we had to face today, we couldn’t deal with them.
Like Parker, Sean Dyche made changes, nine of them from the team that had started the win at Liverpool last Thursday, and he was a happy man at the end after his players had given him an excellent performance.
“That was pretty close to a perfect afternoon,” Dyche said after the 3-0 win. “A win is fantastic, but I thought the performance was outstanding. From the first minute, the energy and desire was there.
“You have to do the basics well and it was a tricky, wet surface with all the snow we’ve had, but I thought we played the conditions well and there were so many good individual performances and the collective feel was excellent and the attitude spot on.
“When you think of big Tarky and the effort he put in the other night at Anfield and he was outstanding. Then the two lads in central midfield; it was great to see Corky getting back to real fitness and Dale Stephens is getting more used to what we do. I thought he was excellent. The front two were running hard and Bailey making two fantastic saves.”
Bailey Peacock-Farrell made big saves early in the second half with us 1-0 up and Dyche said: “I’m pleased for Bailey because he was assured throughout. It’s a big save at 1-0 and we do like what he’s doing. It was a big ask for him in the last game, at Manchester City, so I am delighted for him and his mentality at the clean sheet today.
“All you can ask from players who are not playing every week is to keep knocking on the door, and I could name everyone. They were all key things about the performance, but it was the overall feel that pleased me most. When we’ve got everyone fit and we are competitive, in house, then I have total belief in these players. Of course we look in the market, but you can’t forget the players we have got and we have some very good ones.”
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