Scott Parker says Fulham can take inspiration from the great escape staged by Roy Hodgson’s side in 2008 as the Whites look to beat the drop this season.
Parker’s team are six points away from safety with fourteen games remaining and a successful survival bid would rank alongside the way Hodgson’s side bridged a six-point gap in their final three games with a memorable win at Portsmouth on the final day of the season. The current Fulham boss admitted that historical parallels can help to show his squad that their predicament is far from terminal.
Parker told his press conference ahead of tomorrow night’s meeting with relegation rivals Sheffield United:
“All those stories are things you can look onto and give you hope. Roy was part of that, and that’s something that you look to. Hope mainly comes from what I see and the hope and the belief comes from knowing that we can win football matches and that’s the main thing and the main drive really.”
Hodgson himself reminisced about his memories of his survival act with Fulham during his Crystal Palace press conference this afternoon as well.
“Well, we were relegated on so many occasions. So we were lucky. We were lucky in many ways, that Jimmy Bullard hit a wonderful free kick and even more fortunate that Danny Murphy, who wasn’t even supposed to be in the penalty box, scored a goal with his head which is also something which he didn’t do every week.”
Parker will also be dipping into the psychological side of management – which has spoken about several times during his tenure at Craven Cottage – to support his players over the coming weeks.
“It’s a big challenge. I realise how powerful that psychological element is to a football player. Whether you’re playing at one of the best teams in the world or whether you are one of the best players in the world, it’s still a psychological influence on performance.
“I realise that, and that’s from my own experiences as well. I set out at the start of the season and tried to create a culture at this club that everyone feels very at ease, understands the pressures and what’s expected of them, but has a real belief that you want to improve and be self-critical. At the same time, try to give them some idea of what this season was going to look like.
My experiences as a player give me conviction in that because I understood how this would pan out from last year being with the team, to the quick turnaround, to players coming in, to the level up. I probably always knew it was going to be like that. Because I’ve been able to explain it to them, it’s not come as a surprise when we’ve come under a little bit. It’s a constant process to keep trying to develop players in that way.”
