How Burnley FC can avoid Premier League nightmare in 3 steps | OneFootball

The ways in which Scott Parker and Burnley can ensure they avoid another humiliating relegation from the Premier League next season.

Burnley have gained automatic promotion back to the top-flight but they will be seeking to avoid what happened the last time they were dominant in the Championship on their way to the Premier League.

In the 2022/23 season, Vincent Kompany oversaw an excellent campaign from the Clarets as they won the second division title with 101 points in their 46 matches, finishing ten points clear of second-place Sheffield United and 21 above third-place Luton Town.

However, Burnley were humiliated in the following season with just five victories and 24 points collected in their 38 Premier League matches as they returned to the second-tier within 12 months.

Kompany departed for Bayern Munich and was replaced by former AFC Bournemouth and Fulham boss Scott Parker and they haven’t looked back with a dominant campaign in which their defensive record has been one of the best by any club at any level ever.

As they head into their final game of the campaign at home to play-off chasing Millwall at Turf Moor with the title on the line having conceded just 15 goals in 45 Championship games, there are some clearly defined steps for Parker and his Burnley side to follow to avoid another humiliating Premier League relegation.

Parker to show loyalty & Burnley to stay honest

The first key thing that Parker needs to recognise as Burnley make the step up is that breaking a successful team apart, even for the illusion of added quality and experience in terms of incomings, is something that very rarely works.

A few sides have been forced into it following promotion due to loan spells or contracts ending but some, such as Burnley a couple of years ago, chose to almost entirely rip up the blueprint that made them so successful and cohesive.

They need to avoid the temptation to get drawn into the riches of Premier League promotion and focus on showing loyalty to the players that have helped earn them an immediate return to the top-flight.

Some changes are inevitable and players will be linked with big moves, such as James Trafford, but keeping the core of a side together is a must and something that Parker has already hinted at.

Following on from that comes the second point that Burnley need to follow in order to avoid another massacre against England’s elite and that is for the players to remain honest and for the style of football to remain the same.

Burnley have got themselves promotion with one of the best defensive records that football has seen over the course of a full league season and maintaining that discipline and hard-working ethos will be even more important in the Premier League.

There have been several clubs gain promotion to the top-flight of English football of late and try to attack it, playing a style of football perhaps above their level given the level they were heading into and it has seen them regularly torn apart, as was the case with Burnley a couple of years ago.

If the players and management stay honest with what has worked then this Burnley side, with a point of difference in terms of their intended method of success in comparison to other recently newly-promoted sides, may well stand a good chance of survival.

Sprinkling of attacking quality at Turf Moor

Whilst keeping the core of his side together, Parker will be focused more on the defensive and midfield units in that regard to ensure their solid foundation remains in place in the 2025/26 season.

What will be crucial in terms of slightly evolving the team and the squad, though, will be adding a bit more quality and depth in the final third of the pitch.

Burnley’s top scorer this season has been central midfielder Josh Brownhill, whilst Zian Flemming, who will join the club on a permanent basis from Millwall this summer, is the only other player to make it to double figures in the Championship.

Flemming is an attacking midfielder that has been deployed as a lone striker quite often for Burnley this season and he will likely prove useful at times in the Premier League.

However, if Burnley do want to keep things tight enough to be able to nick games at a higher level they are going to have to ensure they bring in a striker that is clinical and efficient enough to deal off relative scraps.