Burnley boss Scott Parker said a vibrant Turf Moor was key to his side’s 2-1 win against Norwich, which sent them back to the top of the Championship.
The Clarets were rewarded for a dominant first-half display with goals from Hannibal Mejbri – his first for the club – and Jaidon Anthony.
Norwich were vastly improved after the break and pulled one back through substitute Jack Stacey, but the Clarets held on to extend their unbeaten league run to 29 matches.
They also extended their unbeaten home run this season to 21 matches and Parker paid tribute to the Clarets’ fans after moving three points clear of leaders Leeds, who play on Saturday.
Parker said: “I thought the stadium was absolutely superb. It’s probably the best it’s been, certainly since I’ve been here.
“They’ve been brilliant all year, but even when Norwich scored I felt a real positive energy coming from the stadium.
“Our attitude after they scored was superb and a large part of that was down to the stadium to be honest with you.
“The fans gave us a push when we needed it most and they were a large part of why we’ve come out with three points really.”
Mejbri gave Burnley a 14th-minute lead and after Anthony had struck their second via a deflection, the Tunisia midfielder struck a post before half-time.
Parker added: “He’s obviously not been around it for a few weeks, but he’s an infectious boy.
“You look at Hannibal and what you see on the pitch is an infectious lad, who’s passionate about what he does.
“I brought him back in tonight because I thought his energy could give us what we needed and he ticked that box certainly.
“I thought he could be a threat for us. I was pleased he scored. Overall he was superb, a real driver for what we did tonight.”
Norwich’s slim play-off hopes were dealt a blow as they remained 11th, nine points adrift of the top six with four games remaining.
Head coach Johannes Hoff Thorup said: “The first 10 minutes of the second half were really good. We put them under pressure and had some situations in and around their box.
“The goal gave us the belief we could get something from the game. In many ways the second half is positive.
“But I’m tired of losing games like this. We should be able to get a draw, but on the other hand there were many positives.”
Thorup said forward Onel Hernandez would return to training on Monday having missed the last two games after ‘liking’ various posts criticising the club on social media.
Hernandez had attended “a positive meeting” on Thursday and Thorup added: “We are about to end it in a good way, both for him and the club.
“The reason he was not around today was because he was not in training yesterday. But we can expect he will be around the team, starting Monday.”
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