PARKER PRE SAFC

Scott Parker spoke to the press ahead of Burnley's match against Sunderland on Monday night. He spoke lots about new signing James Ward-Prowse but also looked at this game more specifically and how he wants his side to do the league double over us.

JWP ADDS QUALITY

“Well I think first and foremost, he brings quality. We’ve obviously seen James play in numerous games in the Premier League and he brings a know-how and has been at the level. Professional-wise as well, in terms of what he represents and what he stands for, I think he'll be a very good addition for us. We needed some covering there with Josh [Cullen] coming out with a long-term injury and we've done that and feel that we've recruited someone who's going to be valuable to us. We need to get him up to speed now, see how he is in the coming days in terms of actual work and where he is. But we're pleased with that signing.”

PREM EXPERIENCE

“Very important, really, really important. It’s a young squad, like I've said, with players learning in the arena at this present moment in time and it’s the first time they've been around it. Like anything, you're trying to balance a squad with experience and players that actually know what it looks like. You want someone who’s got the t-shirt and James is one of them. He will definitely help us and certainly help us in our current situation, for sure, and help this young group in terms of steering them and getting to the place where we need to get to quicker.”

WILL HE PLAY AGAINST SUNDERLAND?

“I need to probably sit down with him a little bit more. We've got his data for over the last few months in terms of his loading and what he's done. I mean, it'll be a tough one to go and push him straight into the Premier League after obviously not having a lot of football. In saying that, he’s an incredible professional whose every testing he's done with us since he's come in here has been right up there, so he's in a good place. But obviously, match speed and match tempo is probably something that might be missing.”

SET PIECE THREAT

"In terms of set-plays he's an absolute expert so it definitely helps in that area, along with other areas. It would be unfair of me to only compliment James' ability on set-plays - he brings an all-round game - but, for sure, he will give us an added something in that area. That side of the game has gone up tenfold."

WINNABLE GAMES COMING UP

"If you look at that table, it doesn't look pretty, but look at the fixtures coming up and ask yourself: 'Can you pick up some points and get some positive results?' Things can change very quickly and we've seen that over the course of this year. So that's how we go about it now and have no focus on the table at the moment."

TRIP TO SOL

"They've done incredibly - really well. They've obviously invested a huge amount of money and we're probably seeing a totally different squad to the one they were last year. The momentum for them earlier in the season where they picked up points has probably pushed them. It's a tough place and the stadium is hostile as well, so we know what we're coming up against - albeit a very different team. But, we've faced them already this year and got a positive result so we'll be ready."