Fulham caretaker boss Scott Parker 'gutted' for fans after relegation

Fulham caretaker manager Scott Parker has apologised to supporters after the club's return to the Championship was confirmed on Tuesday night.

Parker's side suffered a ninth straight Premier League defeat as Watford secured a thumping 4-1 win at Vicarage Road that ended Fulham's stay in the top flight after just one season.

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Ryan Babel cancelled out Abdoulaye Doucoure's opener, but three goals in 12 minutes from Will Hughes, Troy Deeney and Kiko Femenia consigned the visitors to the drop.

"I'm just gutted for the fans," Parker said. "It is 12 months since we got into the division, and from the outset this year it's been bitterly disappointing for everyone.

"The fans are the ones who pay their money to come and watch the team. There's certainly been times this year when the team haven't given back what they deserve. Personally, I'm really sorry for that.

"We knew the task ahead was going to be pretty difficult in terms of staying in the league.

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"I think initially, as much as I'm disappointed that we've been relegated, the most frustrating and disappointing thing is the manner in which we've lost tonight.

"There were positives, but I think those 10 minutes, when they scored their second to make it 2-1, it's probably a snapshot of us this year, really. That's why we are where we are.

"We tried to grind it out and weather a storm, but we've struggled to do that at times."

Parker was non-committal on his future, reiterating that his position will be assessed in the summer with his focus remaining on Fulham's remaining five games in the Premier League.

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"I think we all understand that there are some clear issues that need to be addressed like when any team get relegated. There have been problems and obviously some mistakes have been made.

"We'll sit down in the coming weeks and work out what they were, and try and learn from them."

When pressed on whether or not he would like to be part of the rebuilding process, Parker added: "There's a lot of questions to asked and a lot of questions to be solved.

"The most important thing at this moment in time is working out what those problems were and to try to rectify them. We need to remain as positive as we can.

"We've got five games, and while I'm here, there's no chance I'll let these players fall away. We'll keep fighting."

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