Burnley manager Scott Parker criticised Hannibal Mejbri following his late red card in the goalless draw with Stoke but vowed to stand by the young forward.
Mejbri was shown a straight red in the 86th minute after being tackled by a sliding Junior Tchamadeu and deliberately stamping on the Stoke right-back as he ran past.
Parker did not hold back in his analysis of the incident but will offer help and advice to the 21-year-old Manchester United academy product.
“He’s let us down today, he’s let the team down, he’s let myself down, he’s let the staff down,” said Parker.
“He understands that, he’s devastated and I’ll deal with him and that situation. He’s a young player and he is developing.
“He’s a player that is on the line constantly and I would never want to take it out of him because that makes him the player he is.
“But today he stepped across that line and we’ll deal with it, show him where he’s gone wrong and I’ll help him through it.
“I don’t need to sit here and explain to Hannibal. That boy will be driving home in his car absolutely devastated at what he’s done.
“We all made mistakes. I’ve made many in my life. This is a young man who has made a mistake and I think he understands that. He does understand that.”
There were stoppage-time chances for both teams, with Stoke substitute Sam Gallagher nodding over from a free-kick and Burnley’s Josh Laurent heading over an open goal with the last touch of the game.
Lewis Koumas also hit the crossbar for a Stoke side led by interim manager Ryan Shawcross for the last time before he hands over to Mark Robins, who was appointed on the morning of the game.
It was Burnley’s seventh goalless draw of the season and, while their defence is operating at unprecedented levels with just nine goals against all season, goalscoring is becoming a major problem for Parker’s team.
After scoring nine in their first two games of the campaign, the ensuing 23 matches have seen Burnley score just 21 times.
“It was frustrating in general,” said Parker. “We felt a little bit short today. The work-rate, desire, endeavour were there but we were a little bit short in terms of that final third or the execution.
“That’s two games on the spin now where we have a massive chance at the end of the game, which on another day maybe goes in and you get out of here with three points.”
Robins was not at Turf Moor, instead working from Stoke’s training ground and watching video feeds of his new team and Plymouth, his first opponents on Saturday.
But, after Shawcross masterminded a win over Sunderland on Sunday, Robins takes over a team in much better form.
“He’s a good manager, an experienced manager and the club is in good hands,” said Shawcross.
“I wish him all the best and hopefully we can pick up three points against Plymouth, move forward and start looking up the table rather than down.
“I think it’s a savvy appointment. It’s a safe pair of hands and he has a good understanding of this league.
“He was at the training ground today, watching the Plymouth game and sorting out plans for training, but I’m sure I’ll speak to him tomorrow.”
