Former England midfielder hopes he can emulate the success of Manchester United caretaker-boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer
Friday 1 March 2019 17:48, UK
Scott Parker has revealed he received an 'inspirational' message from Sir Alex Ferguson congratulating him on his appointment as Fulham caretaker manager.
Parker was placed in charge of Fulham until the end of the season when Claudio Ranieri was sacked on Thursday, less than four months after replacing Slavisa Jokanovic at Craven Cottage.
The former England midfielder faces an imposing task to keep Fulham in the Premier League, with the west London club 10 points adrift of safety with 10 games remaining.
"I don't really have many friends, but yesterday the phone was pinging away," Parker said.
"I had some amazing text messages. Sir Alex text me late last night, which was pretty incredible really.
"To think that he spent the time to write a long, detailed message giving me some advice on how he sees things was truly inspirational really, and I know it sounds a big comment, but it's the truth."
Parker's first game in charge comes against his former club Chelsea on Sunday, live on Sky Sports, with challenging match-ups against Liverpool and Manchester City to follow later this month.
Ferguson's former club Manchester Untied have benefited from the caretaker appointment of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who has gone unbeaten in the Premier League since taking charge in December, and Parker hopes he can emulate the Norwegian.
Asked if he can have a similar impact to Solskjaer, Parker said: "I hope so. I really hope so.
"I hope I can bring an energy. I hope I can transmit my passion to the team.
"There's more to the game than just passion and drive, I get that, but that's a key fundamental in any top football club."
