Watch Fulham vs Manchester City on Saturday from 11.30am on Sky Sports Premier League; Kick-off is at 12.30pm
Saturday 30 March 2019 11:42, UK
Fulham caretaker boss Scott Parker sat down with Jamie Redknapp to discuss his first steps into management, and why this experience has not put him off.
Parker took over from Claudio Ranieri last month after the Italian was sacked, with Fulham facing relegation from the Premier League, sitting 19th and 13 points off safety with just seven games remaining.
The first of those seven games comes against Manchester City at Craven Cottage on Saturday, live on Sky Sports Premier League at 12.30pm, and though Fulham have lost all three games under Parker, the 38-year-old is loving the role and wants it to continue.
He told Sky Sports: "I love what I'm doing, I really do. This has been a process which has taken me seven years to accomplish. Some bad years, then spending a year with Spurs U18s last year trying to cut my teeth."
Asked if he wants the Fulham role full-time, Parker said: "The role that I've been given is one of caretaker. My main focus is trying to get results, but there's no hiding away from it, I've got an affiliation with the club. Four years as a player and back this year, it's obviously something I'd like."
Parker played nearly 600 senior games for club and country, including four years at Fulham before retiring in 2017.
Despite his experience on the pitch, Parker insists nothing can prepare you for the different skills needed to be a success off it.
"You can play all the games you want as a professional footballer, but when you go into coaching it's just totally different. I have the ideas and thoughts and everything, now delivering that message and getting it across to the players is totally [different], I am now a teacher as such.
"I'm enjoying it, to be fair. It's very different to what I was used to as a player and as a coach. It's busy, long days and a lot of decisions to me made however small and big. But it's going well and I'm enjoying it."
Watch Jamie Redknapp's extended interview with Scott Parker as Fulham host Man City, live on Sky Sports Premier League at 12.30pm on Saturday.
