Burnley boss Scott Parker recognises playing Sunderland tonight is a massive challenge but he insisted, “it’s the same approach as always because every game is vitally important".

The former England midfielder played for Charlton Athletic, Chelsea, Newcastle, West Ham, Tottenham and Fulham so has a wealth of experience in the game. He has guided Burnley to second in the table in his first season in charge at Turf Moor and is relishing the task. But he reckoned playing Regis Le Bris’ side tonigh, is no different to taking on a club lower down the table and he played down the clash.

“You want to look at the league table of course and put some more importance on one game or another game,” he told the Burnley press. “I don’t really look at it like that. We need to approach this game like we have approached the majority this season. We go in fully prepared and need to understand the dynamics this game will bring, the quality we are up against and what we are going to need to bring as well.

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“While I understand in terms of the league table how it looks, there are two teams pretty close to each other, that holds no real relevance to me in terms of what I need to see or how we prepare for this game. We won’t be preparing for this game any different to if we were playing a team further down the league really.”

Parker reckons he doesn’t study tables as much as some would think and he continued: “I’m a firm believer in not really looking at the table. It’s not something I’m really focussed on. I just know that for us to be operating in and around where we need to be operating we need to win. That’s the main focus really. The league table is the league table. Seven points, nine points? You could be seventh or eighth, go on a run of three or four wins in a row and then be right back up there. I quickly realised from experience that if you take your eye off preparing yourselves from winning football matches you could be on the end of a three-game losing streak. Or you could be at the other end of it. It’s a cliche but we take one game at a time.”

Burnley host Leeds United after Sunderland in their next home match and Parker added: “They are big games. But I’d be asked the same question as to whether it was a big game if we had lost two in a row and we were playing 13th. People would be saying it’s humongous. So yes they are two big games. Maybe there is a different approach to how these teams come and play the game. But we will prepare the same.”