Alan Shearer thinks Burnley have just done something ‘ridiculous’, and Gary Lineker agrees 

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Burnley returned to the Premier League on Monday with a promotion-sealing 2-1 victory over Sheffield United.

A brace from midfield powerhouse Josh Brownhill got them over the line at Turf Moor, sparking scenes of jubilation at full-time as Leeds United were also promoted to the Premier League.

It’s been an incredible campaign for everyone associated with the football club, but particularly for Scott Parker, who won his third promotion from the Championship.

Parker joined the Clarets in the summer following a difficult time in management. The Englishman was sacked by Club Brugge at the start of 2023 and waited patiently for the right job to come up.

Luckily, that happened to emerge as Burnley, fixing the myriad of problems they had after relegation while making them the most fearsome team in the second tier.

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Gary Lineker and Alan Shearer on ‘ridiculous’ Burnley record

The foundations of success under Parker have been built on Burnley’s outrageous defensive record, conceding just 15 goals in 44 matches this term while gunning for a Football League record in the process.

Their incredible defensive trio of James Trafford, CJ Egan-Riley and Maxime Esteve have been untouchable, with pundits Gary Lineker and Alan Shearer now praising their outstanding achievement.

“Their record this season under Scott Parker has been pretty impressive, particularly of late,” Lineker said on the Rest Is Football podcast. “Conceded just 15 goals in 44 games, kept 29 clean sheets, haven’t conceded more than one goal in any game.

“I mean, that is nuts. And unbeaten in the last 31 games and now back in the Premier League, and then they’ll be craving the Championship again within three, four months, probably. That’s the nature of it now, but hopefully not.”

Shearer added: “Yeah, what a job Scott Parker has done, eh? Unbelievable that is. I mean, those stats are ridiculous.”

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Joe Hart has said how Burnley can survive in the Premier League

Burnley have cantered through the division this term and can still win the Championship title ahead of Leeds United with two games remaining.

But once the dust settles on their promotion, the Lancashire side will find the gap between the Championship and Premier League is huge.

That is evinced by all three promoted clubs suffering relegation immediately to the second-tier, with Leicester City, Southampton and Ipswich Town returning to the EFL.

Roy Keane thinks promoted teams need to be ‘harder to beat’, as some attempt to play easy-on-the-eye football and get ripped apart.

Joe Hart, though, feels Burnley will learn from what the other clubs have done in the past by making themselves tougher to break down and preserving their solid defensive structure.

“He’s [Scott Parker] has made it absolutely clear that he wants a rock solid team,” Hart said. “I’ve just seen on the monitor that’s his third promotion, that’s impressive. He knows what to do in that Championship and he knows how to win games. 

“There’s no way he’s going to come away from that next season, no way, especially after what he’s seen in the last two seasons from newly promoted sides. I think we’re going to see a totally different approach from the promoted sides.

“I think fans are going to have to get on board that their teams are really going to be looking to grind out results and earn their status in the Premier League.”