THE most pressing question to Scott Parker is also the most simple: why?
 |
| Scott Parker has made just six appearances for Fulham this season in the Championship |
Why does the dug-out hold all the allure for him when the comfort of the commentary box remains the attraction for so many of his contemporaries?
Why, when there have been a record number of managerial departures in the first half of the season, does he feel the need to dip his toe in the water?
Parker's answer is similarly straightforward. "It is what I know," he said. "I definitely want to carry on working for myself really, just to get out and do something, and there is that part of me which likes dealing with people.
"I like being around people, and that side of me can try and get the best out of people.
"As a player, as a captain, I felt I did that and now I will hopefully give it a go as a coach or manager one day.
"My drive and passion is to be out there and to try and coach a team and influence a team and give them something that I can deliver and be proud of.
"Whether it is working with them on a training ground, or dealing with a 16-year-old who has a problem I can help him out with. I get quite a buzz from that."
Time out from training at Fulham saw Parker travel to St George's Park on Monday where he shared a classroom with the likes of Glasgow Rangers manager Mark Warburton and QPR boss Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, undergoing media training as part of his UEFA Pro Licence.
The former England midfielder is not just bucking the trend from the likes of Michael Owen, Paul Scholes and Rio Ferdinand by looking to move into management. That he graduates in June, completing 245 hours of modules in the process, is testament to the clarity of his commitment.
Parker's ambition has run parallel to a playing career that has seen him turn out for Charlton, Chelsea, Newcastle, West Ham - where he was FWA Footballer of the Year in 2011 - and Tottenham. This is not something he has stumbled into in the twilight.
"It has taken me six years to get in the position I am now," said Parker. "I was in my second year at Spurs when I first started out on my Level Two, then B licence, A licence and now this.
"I did a lot of coaching at Spurs with John McDermott. I was coaching Josh Onomah and Harry Winks and John was a massive help for me. I have done some bits at Fulham, although not as much at Tottenham because I was probably doing it twice a week.
"The biggest thing for me is how different it is. You play so many games, big games, but then coaching is so much different. It is quite difficult.
"There is an art to it and to getting your message across. Trying to teach what comes instinctively on a football pitch to someone else is sometimes quite difficult."
Parker's formative years were shaped at the former FA National School in Lilleshall, where Franny Jeffers and Alan Smith were in the same year as him and Owen, Wes Brown and Michael Ball the one above.
If there is a shortfall in today's youngsters, Parker maintains it is not concerning their technique when compared to foreign starlets.
"Lilleshall was a brilliant experience. They should never have shut that," he said. "It was a place that gave me a grounding and made me the way I am today.
"It gave me responsibility at a young age. I left home at 14. I was under the guidance of Keith Blunt was who very old-school, a dictatorship, his way or no way, and I feel that made me the person I am today.
"Other than my upbringing from my dad and stuff that was a massive guidance to how I conduct myself and what I needed to do to be a top player.
"You are around 16 of the best in the country, so you are literally up against them every day. It was dog eat dog.
"Technically the players coming through now are far more technical than we were. Drive? Ambition? Personality? Maybe you could question that at times, but is that the generation we are living in today?
"Computers, social media, everything is at hand. Is that going to be negative in terms of having that real drive and ambition to go and be successful?
"When I was growing up all I had was a ball and that was it. I used to go out to the estate and literally spend days out there. The kids have much more than that now.
"Five years ago it was clear the younger talent coming through from Spain and Germany was better. I don't think that is the case any more."
Post a Comment Blogger Facebook Disqus