Carlton Palmer tapers Burnley positivity despite "massive" Leeds United statement | OneFootball

Carlton Palmer has given his verdict on Burnley's 1-0 victory over Leeds United last weekend

Carlton Palmer believes Burnley’s 1-0 win over Leeds United won’t have any big immediate impact on either side’s promotion pursuit.

A Luca Koleosho strike secured all three points for the Clarets on Saturday afternoon at Elland Road.

Scott Parker’s side moved ahead of Leeds in the table, jumping up to fourth after the rest of the weekend’s action concluded.

Both sides will be aiming to fight for promotion to the Premier League this year, so this victory could prove an important three points by May.

Koleosho has been a regular starter for Burnley so far this season after joining from Espanyol in the summer of 2023, and has now contributed two goals from four league appearances this term (all stats from Fbref).

Carlton Palmer makes Championship promotion race claim

Palmer believes that the loss to Burnley won’t have an immediate impact on Leeds’ promotion hopes given how close the table still is.

He has claimed that both teams are in a transition phase, but expects them to both be in the mix for automatic promotion when the season comes to its closing stages.

“Yes it was a massive result for Burnley at the weekend, a 1-0 win over Leeds United at Elland Road, with Luca Koleosho scoring,” Palmer told Football League World.

“You want to get off to a great start, it’s as simple as that, and Burnley have done that.

“They’re fourth in the table, there’s a lot of transition that happens when you get relegated from the Premier League, in terms of players that you have to leave, balancing the books and getting that sorted.

“That is something that Daniel Farke had to deal with last season, but also he’s had to deal with several of his top players, Summerville and Archie Gray, leaving the football club.

“So it’s been a very unsettling time for Leeds United, and they’ll want things to settle down.

“How it will feature come the end of the season, only time will tell.

“Leeds are eight points, only two points behind Burnley, so it’s not that significant at the moment.

“The two teams that are up there at the moment, we’ll see whether they can give it a go in West Brom, Sunderland and Blackburn.

“West Brom, Sunderland and Blackburn have had fantastic starts, can they keep it going? I expect Burnley, Sheffield United, Leeds United and Luton Town to be in the shake up come the end of the season for automatic, so we’ll have to see.”

Palmer praises Koleosho

Palmer has also praised the impact of Koleosho, whose goal sealed a big three points at Elland Road, but stressed how this one result won’t make or break anyone’s season.

“He’s a talented player, Koleosho, they’ve got a very, very good side, they look a very, very solid side Burnley, and they’ll be pushing hard to get that automatic spot,” he added.

“But, like I said, it’s going to be one hell of a race when you look at the people in the fight for it.

“If you look at it now, and that’s how close the Championship is, West Bromwich Albion on 13 points, we go down to Middlesbrough, who are 10th in the league, and they are [on] eight points, so there are five points separating the top 10 teams.

“That’s how close it was last season, so a big win at Elland Road for Burnley, but in the case of over the course of the season, we’ll have to wait and see how that pans out.”

Win over Leeds is a big mental boost for Burnley

Getting a win away at Elland Road will be a huge morale boost for Parker’s side, especially after the disappointing 1-1 draw against bitter rivals Blackburn last time out.

A couple of poor results before the break had cast some doubt on just how good the Clarets are, but they held on well against Leeds to take a big three points off their promotion rivals.

Burnley won in a different way to how supporters became used to under Vincent Kompany, with only 28 percent of the ball, but they took their chance when it came through Koleosho.

This is the kind of win that can give Burnley the mental edge in the battle for promotion, but there are still way too many games left to play to know just how important this win will prove to be.