Scott Parker Left With Mixed Emotions After Taking Over From Claudio Ranieri at Fulham

Scott Parker has admitted his first foray into management has left him with mixed emotions after replacing Claudio Ranieri as Fulham boss.


Parker has worked under Ranieri as an assistant this season and feels conflicted at the manner of his appointment, with the axe haven fallen on the Italian.

The returning fan favourite did confess he was delighted to have been appointed, but is under no illusion of the challenge he faces. 

Aleksandar Mitrovic

"It's mixed emotions, what with sitting where we are in the league and Claudio losing his job, but the flipside is one of excitement. I appreciate the opportunity and I'm really looking forward to it,” Parker told BBC Sport.

Ranieri was only appointed mid-season and arrived in good stead after stellar performances at Nantes and ​Leicester prior. He took over bottom of the league Fulham in November, but could only muster three wins from 17 games in charge.

Claudio Ranieri

The Cottagers have risen just one place in that time and are now cut adrift, 10 points from safety. The club would need something miraculous to stay up in the remaining games but for now, Parker is only focused on making the best possible impression short term.

"The situation doesn't lie. It's a tough ask,” he added. “At times we've been a little easy to play against and we need to address that. We need to get a balance back. As a club, as fans, as players, as owners, we just need to regroup a little bit.”

"It's definitely an audition [for me]. On a personal note, this is something I started working towards seven years ago. I've got an ambition to be a manager.”

Scott Parker

Parker's first game in charge at Craven Cottage is against Maurizio Sarri's Chelsea, who've lost their last four domestic away games, but did recover some face by beating title hopefuls Tottenham in mid-week. 


Source : 90min