Whether the current squad has the stomach for the fight ahead..

Relatively speaking, in my opinion last years squad was one of the most spineless I have seen at Burnley for many years.
There was zero leadership and character throughout the entire team. I realise we have seen rather ungifted players before, going back to the division 4 years for example. But while many of the players we had back then may have been lacking in technical ability, they had a lot more heart and fight than last years lot did.

I would honestly say that Parker's biggest challenge is going to whether he can in still confidence again within the group, and dare I say identify those who haven't got the commitment to the cause.

There is only 2 weeks to go now before the start of the new season, and keeping in mind we can only register a senior squad of 25. Our squad is still massively over bloated at around 38/39 players.

Granted, there maybe a possibility that Parker is trying to take his time in having a good look at everyone before deciding who to keep and who needs offloading. But my concern is that we maybe taking a bit too long in doing so, resulting in a slow start to the season that leaves ourselves to much of a gap to catch up. It also certainly wont help a group of players who already seem to have fragile confidence from last year.

I think we really need to get on with shifting quite a few out the door, so Parker can freshen the squad up with some new faces. I really believe its going to be pivotal to our season to get some competition for places, keeping some of the current lot on their toes.