Mike Jackson: Avoiding finishing bottom nothing to celebrate for Burnley
By Press Association Sport Staff
Burnley interim boss Mike Jackson took no solace from not finishing bottom of the Premier League after the Clarets ended the season with a 1-1 draw with Wolves.
A Wolves win would have taken them off the foot of the table and they were on course for just a fourth league victory of the campaign when Adam Armstrong quickly scored from the spot.
But the hosts fought back in the second half and Zian Flemming’s equaliser ensured they ended the campaign 19th – and picked up around £2.7million more in prize money.
However, Jackson said: “It doesn’t really matter that we didn’t finish bottom. The disappointment of the season still sits there.
“But I’ve said to the players that they can’t let setbacks define you. The club has been here before and we can do it again.
“Some players will leave, of course, but it’s about how you rebuild the squad. In an ideal world, things would be decided quickly, but you can’t rush these things. You have to make sure that you get the best people possible in place.”
Burnley will now prepare for life back in the Championship, which includes finding a new manager.
Jackson replaced Scott Parker for the final four matches of the campaign and picked up two points.
Jackson said: “What’s next for me? I’m going to go out into the garden and chill! But I’m sure there will be talks over the next few days first about what’s going to happen.”
Wolves started on the front foot and were ahead in the fifth minute.
Ladislav Krejci’s header struck the outstretched arm of Florentino and Armstrong converted the spot-kick to register only his second Premier League goal since arriving from Southampton in February.
Mateus Mane hit the post and Clarets goalkeeper Max Weiss saved brilliantly from David Moller Wolfe.
But the game turned when Flemming exchanged passes with Lesley Ugochukwu in the 48th minute and fired a crisp shot just inside Jose Sa’s right-hand post from 18 yards.
Wolves manager Rob Edwards, who came in with the team on two points after 11 games before losing his first seven matches in charge, said: “We looked really dangerous in the first half, but we weren’t able to take advantage of those chances we created to score a second goal.
“Allowing Burnley to come back into it, in the manner that we did, was really disappointing.
“I came in with my eyes wide open. We have given it everything.
“This has been a big, big challenge. We knew what we were coming into, but now we’ve got to start moving forward.
“I said to the lads that the fans want to come with us. We’ve now got to build a team that they can be proud to watch. We need to build a connection with them. That’s going to be down to hard work.
“It’s been a challenging season. But this is a club that is close to my heart and I feel passionately about being part of turning things around. I know that if we can get things right here it can be amazing.”