Mansfield brilliant pressure on Parker – is his time at Burnley over?

The loss to the team sitting 13th in the third tier of English football marks a new low in Burnley’s season just as renewed optimism is beginning to creep in.

Burnley’s impressive 3-2 win over Crystal Palace on Wednesday was their first win in 16 Premier League matches. The gloom was starting to lift a little.

Parker’s side showed real fight and spirit at Selhurst Park, which made his decision to make nine changes to his side for the visit of Mansfield all the more puzzling.

“When you can’t qualify for the next round, there will always be questions about that [team selection] “But I don’t think that was the main factor today,” Parker told BBC Sport.

“We lacked a little something in those final moments. And that’s where we failed today.”

Burnley are not the first, nor will they be the last, team in the Premier League to make changes for a cup tie against a lesser opponent.

But after Cardiff City’s exit from the League Cup last September, the FA Cup was the only chance for fans to distract themselves from looming relegation.

“It’s embarrassing, the changes he made. Play with your strongest team. He made nine changes, and the second half was embarrassing,” former Burnley defender David Unsworth told BBC Radio East Lancashire.

“It’s an embarrassing day for Burnley. It gives the owner a decision to make now. He has to listen to the fans, they are not happy.”

“For the first time, I’m seeing boos and discontent from all sides of the stadium. The owner has a decision to make.”

Chairman Alan Peace, leader of club owners ALK Capital, is not the most popular at Turf Moor at the moment either.

He angered fans this week when, during an interview with BBC Football Fox, he dismissed fans’ concerns as coming from those who “play this game on a computer somewhere”.

He went on to liken those same fans to little three-year-olds having a tantrum.

Pace used Saturday’s show notes to clarify his words, writing: “I did not mean to be offensive, but I meant what I was trying to say, which is that just because some people are angry does not mean that things are dire and without hope.”

Many Burnley fans are hoping Bess will end Parker’s spell as manager, although the former Premier League midfielder said he is confident in his position at the club.

“I’m very comfortable in my position at the moment. We lost a football match today to a team we should have beaten,” Parker told BBC Sport.

“We had many chances. Of course you will always judge the result and today was a bad result. We take responsibility, the team and me.”