Lancashire

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Former Burnley defender David Unsworth says Scott Parker "deserves a second chance" after the Clarets were relegated from the Premier League following the 1-0 defeat by Manchester City on Wednesday.

Speaking to BBC Radio Lancashire, Unsworth said: "It was a competitive game. They stayed in it the whole time, created chances in the first half and defended with their lives second half.

"The fans stayed with them, which was massive. It wasn't embarrassing - City didn't run away with it.

"The effort was there, it was just a lack of quality.

"I hope Parker stays and has the chance to redeem a poor season. I don't think he's been handed the best cards.

"He deserves a second chance and I don't think a massive rebuild is needed. There is quality in the squad to come back up, but will they have the finances to really attack the Premier League in two seasons' time?

"If anyone can get Burnley up it's Scott Parker. His Championship success is there for all to see and I really hope he has that opportunity."

Hear more of the interview with Unsworth, external

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Burnley's position as yo-yo kings was confirmed with Premier League relegation, following Wednesday's 1-0 defeat by Manchester City, meaning next season will be their fifth year in a row of flitting between the top two divisions.

Only Fulham, between 2017-18 and 2021-22, have 'achieved' that before - with current Clarets boss Scott Parker also involved there.

It has led observers to wonder how Burnley can break this cycle... or if they even want to.

They will want it to go on for a sixth year at least - to take them back up.

Former Burnley winger Glen Little said it wouldn't surprise him if the Clarets "come straight back up" but added it's a shame that this season they are "the odd ones out" in terms of newly-promoted sides remaining in the Premier League.

Little told BBC Sport: "I suppose we could say we have been fortunate that every time we've been relegated, we have come straight back up and so it keeps the parachute payments."

"And then you get the Premier League money again after promotion."

Four times now, the Clarets have been relegated from the Premier League a year after coming up, equalling Norwich's record.

In total they have been promoted to the Premier League five times, and now relegated from it five times. Since 1992, they have been through eight English league promotions and six relegations. Only Rotherham, with eight of each, can beat that.

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We asked for your views after Burnley's relegation back to the Championship was confirmed following a 1-0 defeat to title-chasers Manchester City.

Where do you think it went wrong this season? Are there any positives or learnings to take into next season?

Here are some of your thoughts:

Emma: Hooray for the Championship! More teams, more games, more wins and more fun for the fans, plus no VAR! It's always a great feeling to be promoted, but the Premier League is little fun for fans of smaller clubs like Burnley.

Ted: Dear Mr Pace, can we please have our club back now that relegation is confirmed? You surely cannot accept the dross that is Scott Parker any longer. The performances have collapsed, gloom is hanging over the entire club, crowd numbers are down and - to nobody's surprise - so are we! I know you say you're not an expert in football, but you're a business manager so you must see proper change is required!

Rennie: The manager did not get the best out of this squad. We were poor in defence on the turnover and we were leaving huge gaps that were ruthlessly exploited. We also couldn't create and finish chances, with only Zian Flemming and Jaidon Anthony showing the necessary quality. It has been sure enough a disappointing season, where do we go from here I wonder?

Jeff: If you get promoted to the Premier League, you must spend money on players. If you don't, you go back down. That's the message to Burnley, yet again.

Graeme: Scott Parker is utterly out of his depth. He has no tactics, a penchant for picking very poor players and a habit of making unfathomable substitutions. He should've been sacked in October. Instead we've had incompetent management and, in the main, incapable players. Without a complete clear-out - save Dubravka, Flemming, Anthony and perhaps Cullen - and a new manager, they will struggle in the Championship. I fear next season will be another battle against relegation, which they may very well lose.

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After 34 Premier League games, and four games remaining, Burnley's fate has been sealed in the 1-0defeat to Manchester City as they return to the Championship.

Former Burnley winger, Glen Little told BBC Sport that Burnley fans "were a bit spoilt" during Sean Dyche's era at the club and that the Clarets "overachieved" during Dyche's nine-year and five-month tenure.

"It might not have been sort of the best football to watch, the modern-day football that we see now, but it was effective at staying in the Premier League, but once Dyche left, we came down," said Little.

"When Vincent Kompany came in, he totally changed the style of football, the way we played, and we had a great season in the Championship, one of the best Championship teams we've ever seen."

After being relegated from the Premier League with Burnley in 2024, Kompany was appointed by German side, Bayern Munich.

Little added it was a "mess" when Scott Parker took over from Kompany, but the club "regrouped" and secured 100 points to return to the top-flight.

"It'll be interesting to see what happens with Scott Parker now. Will he decide to stay on and try and get us straight back up? We've seen him do it with Bournemouth, Fulham and also Burnley," said Little.

Although Burnley have yo-yoed between the Premier League and Championship in the past five seasons, Little believes "if we keep most of the players, I think we'll be straight back up again."

Burnley boss Scott Parker, speaking to BBC Match of the Day after his team's relegation: "Overall, I think the performance tonight speaks volumes of us as a group. The inevitable was there, but I am proud of the players, we just fell a bit short. Playing against Manchester City, you're going to have few opportunities - in fact we probably had quite a few. Overall a brilliant performance and for that I am immensely proud.

"I thought the stadium was brilliant tonight. It has been mixed at certain moments and I get the frustration, but we left everything on the pitch tonight. I said that to the group tonight; the paying spectators want to see that, and we did that to a tee."

On the future: "The club has had to [bounce back] over the last few years. There is a lot of learning to do and that is exactly what we'll do. We'll reflect on where we've fallen short. We need to work out where we've gone wrong and come back stronger next year."

If the club want to keep you, will you stay?: "It's been a relentless season for everyone, me included. We [he and the board] will sit down and reflect, work out where we move forward and go from there."

Burnley defender Kyle Walker, speaking to Sky Sports after the club's relegation: "It was a disappointing evening. I am a player for Burnley and I will do my best for the shirt to make sure we get a result. Unfortunately, now we are relegated, but we need to play the remaining games with that level of performance.

"What this club means to this town is incredible. I drive through it every day. It means a lot to them. From us to them, thank you for every bit of support this season, and hopefully we can do you proud next season.

"I came here with a dream to keep this club up. I achieved a lot personally, but this would have been right up there. It would have been very special to keep this club up.

"This is people's dreams that have now come to an end in the Premier League. They need to use this fire to make sure we are back here next season."

Did you know?

• Burnley have been relegated from the Premier League for the fifth time, only Norwich City (6) have ever dropped out of the competition more often.

• Burnley have lost four consecutive Premier League games for the second time this season (a run of 7 between November and December), losing their 22nd match of the campaign – having lost 24 games in both 2023-24 and 2009-10, only West Bromwich Albion have lost 22+ games in more Premier League seasons (4).

Preston manager Paul Heckingbottom spoke to BBC Radio Lancashire following their 2-1 defeat at Birmingham.

"I have a couple of big frustrations. The goals from our point of view, and then the fact we couldn't take one of the opportunities to get something from the game," he said.

"We started brightly and the two goals were really poor. That 10 minutes knocked us but we responded and regrouped, scored the next goal and got better and better as the game went on.

"Birmingham changed and went more man for man against us, but in the second half we had chances to deal with that. I am disappointed because we were on the front foot, much more aggressive, and created more than enough. That was another frustration.

"Away from home in the Championship is always tough, but we have played worse than that and won games. I felt the game was there for us. We were OK in the first half – even taking the goals out of it – but I've said many times I want to make that shift and get on top away from home and play with a bravery."

Shamoon Hafez
Football reporter

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One year and one day ago, Burnley beat Sheffield United to celebrate automatic promotion back to the Premier League.

But that delight turned to despair as their long expected relegation was confirmed against Manchester City, lying 13 points adrift of 17th-placed West Ham with only four games left to play.

Captain Kyle Walker enjoyed lifting 17 trophies while at City but his spell at Burnley has been a miserable one, as the full-back and his team-mates bowed out with a whimper.

Boss Scott Parker has guided his side to just four wins all season, with just one of those coming in their past 25 league games - dating back to the start of November.

The Englishman's own record against City is dismal, losing all six meetings, while his Burnley side have now suffered defeat in 12 consecutive games against them.

Parker is a specialist at taking teams up to the Premier League, having done so three times during his managerial career, but it remains to be seen whether he will be given the opportunity to do so again next season.

Burnley have been relegated to the Championship after defeat against Manchester City.

Tell us, what went wrong this season? And were there any positives to take?

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