Scott Parker Fulham
Posted in2022-2023-Season Daily News

#PLStories- Honest Scott Parker will tell players when it’s time to ‘move on’ after embarrassing 9 – 0 loss against Liverpool #AFCB #LFC

August 27, 2022
BOSS Scott Parker opened up on what he described as the "hardest part of the job", admitting: "Football is ruthless at times." With the end of the transfer window fast approaching, Cherries are working tirelessly to improve their squad to give them the best possible chance of staying in the Premier League. But on the other side of the coin, the only way new arrivals can be accommodated is for other players to be let go, due to Premier League squad registration rules. There are currently no vacant spaces within Cherries' 25-man list, which will have to be submitted after Thursday's deadline. That means players will either have to be loaned out or sold, or will be ineligible to play in league fixtures, until January at least. Asked how he has developed the ruthless streak required of disappointing players by either leaving them out of a team or selling them, Parker told the Daily Echo: "It's difficult. Of course it's difficult. "It's the hardest part of the job to be honest with you, whether that's on a Saturday when you have to name a squad of 19, 20 players and there’s certain players who have worked hard during the week but are not in it. "It's not an easy part of the job. And then also the part of the job where you need to get to and where you need to go and when you step up levels in the Premier League, the levels are absolutely huge. "There’s a combination of a lot of things. Us as a football club, what's best for us in the development of the football club and how we move forward. Players, their personal feelings towards that. Do they want to play? Don't they want to play? They want game-time. "I'm a manager that is always very honest with players, so if I don't feel that someone's going to get playing time, then I'd rather give him a heads up on that to obviously move on. "If I don't think a player is for me and is not for us at this present moment in time, then again it's an opportunity to move on. "This is a hard part of the job, but football is ruthless at times and this is just part and parcel of it, of what you have to do sometimes." The likes of Siriki Dembele, Jamal Lowe, Emiliano Marcondes and Jack Stacey have been linked with moves away this month. Asked if it makes it more difficult because some of the players who could move on played a key role in the club clinching promotion last season, Parker added: "I was a player for 20 years in it. It was the same with me at certain moments. "At Spurs, I came off the back of an incredible season at Spurs and AVB (Andre Villas-Boas) came in and wanted to go another way. "In football and modern day, the way we are, you need to accept what the positions are in the game we're in, really. "So, of course, I have nothing but huge respect and appreciation for every single one of my players, for sure. "But like I said, the levels go up. And for us to evolve and for us to improve and try and stay in this division, these are the decisions and the actions which probably need to take place at certain times. "While they're not easy, this is what sometimes you have to do."
Scott Parker Fulham
Posted in2022-2023-Season Daily News

#PLStories- Scott Parker’s rallying cry ahead of Premier League opener and frustrating transfer business #AFCB

August 5, 2022
BOSS Scott Parker put to one side his concerns over a lack of signings, insisting "we're full battle ahead" for the start of the Premier League season. Parker vocalised his frustrations at a lack of defensive reinforcements following each of the past two pre-season friendlies, as Cherries lost to both Bristol City and Real Sociedad. Speaking last Saturday, the 41-year-old said: "It’s clear that we are lacking in a lot of areas. We need to work out whether we want to give ourselves a chance of being competitive this year." Asked if he feels those comments were a calculated risk, given the impact it could have on his current squad, Parker said: "It wasn’t calculated. Maybe it’s emotion after a game and I realise certainly now you’re in the Premier League and every comment is held on to as well. "But it is the truth. I am not criticising what I have here. The squad of players I had here showed me last year the fight, the spirit they have. "The facts are, like everyone at the football club knows at this moment in time, we need to bring in some players and everyone is trying their hardest to do that. "Me as a manager sitting here, I want them in three months ago, of course I do, that’s just because that’s where it is, that’s what I want. "I also understand at times it’s difficult, in a market where it is very competitive, in a market which is a lot of teams spending a lot of money. We’re probably in a different market to that, so we have to be creative, while also trying to bring in the right quality. "I don’t want to just bring in players here that are not going to improve us or not going to take us on those levels. "When you want to and bring players to improve and players to help, the players that you’re looking at are often are players that other clubs want and they don’t want to let go. He added: "Of course you can read a headline or my manner in certain moments will give the impression of that, but that’s not the case. "We need help, everyone has acknowledged that and everyone in their power is trying to do something about that." Discussing his mindset ahead of the start of the season, Parker added: "We’re full battle ahead now. This is where we are in terms of a squad. "My head and the team’s head is solely on Saturday, where we’re going into the biggest league, something we’ve worked tirelessly for last year, this group of players. "We need to bring something at the weekend, which is a fighting spirit, a real determination and something that this group of players, myself, the staff, the fans, the owner, the football club wanted all last year. And we worked tirelessly for that. "We’re now three days out from that occasion and we need to embrace that." He added: "From the minute we walked in on Monday, there was one focus and that focus is Aston Villa, that focus is the quality of what Aston Villa possess and the challenge for us is to go up against this quality, not shirk it, not back away from it, not be scared of it for one second. "But to go and try and take this opportunity and assert ourselves as much as we can. So that’s exactly where we are really."