Scott Parker demands more passion from Fulham players
Friday 1 March 2019 16:10, UK
Newly-appointed Fulham caretaker manager Scott Parker believes displaying more passion will help his squad overcome a disconnect with the club's supporters.
Parker, who spent the final four seasons of his playing career at Craven Cottage, replaced Claudio Ranieri on Thursday as the Italian was sacked less than four months after replacing Slavisa Jokanovic.
Fulham are 10 points adrift of Premier League safety with 10 games remaining, and with games against Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester City to come in March, their chances of survival appear bleak.
"There are certain things as a football player you can't guarantee, whether that's (Aleksandar) Mitrovic scoring a goal, whether that's Calum Chambers making passes successfully, you can't guarantee that," said Parker, who has been given the job until the end of the season.
Live Renault Super Sunday
"But if there's one thing you guarantee as a football player, it's that you leave a passion, you have a desire on the football field, that is undoubtedly seen."
"Of course there's a bigger picture in the detail of the work and there's tactics but at this moment in time, I want our fans to look at a team of players at the end of 90 minutes that have literally given everything and if they do that, I know ultimately the result will be a by-product from that."
Parker was renowned for his professionalism and passion during a playing career in which he represented four other London clubs, including Tottenham, where he served as a youth coach last season.
The former England midfielder's first game in charge comes against another of his old clubs, Chelsea, live on Sky Sports on Sunday, when he hopes to begin to prove to the Fulham hierarchy that he is worthy of the role on a permanent basis.
"It's definitely an audition," Parker said.
"On a personal note this is something which I started seven years ago when I was a Spurs player, I started to do my coaching badges, it's a passion of mine."
"I've got a dying ambition to be a manager, certainly at this present moment in time, my main focus is trying to get the team together a little bit, trying to get a little bit of stability, take a deep breath and work from there really."
