Scott Parker drops future hint after breaking silence on Tottenham links
Strong claims that Scott Parker is a leading candidate to succeed Jose Mourinho in the Tottenham dugout having drawn a response from the Fulham manager.
Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy has so far drawn a blank in his efforts to land a big-name replacement for Mourinho. Having seen Julian Nagelsmann swap Leipzig for Bayern Munich, the Spurs supremo appears to have switched his focus to Serie A. But landing a new manager has seemed a difficult task, especially with the club missing out on Champions League football again.
Closer to home, Tottenham have been linked with Brendan Rodgers, Graham Potter and Parker. Indeed, according to reports, Spurs could launch an approach for Rodgers as soon as next week.
However, it is Parker who remains favourite for the vacancy. Although they have suffered relegation from the Premier League, Parker has picked up plenty of plaudits for the manner in which he has managed the Cottagers.
But when questioned on his future, Parker claims his focus remains at Craven Cottage.
“As always, I’m committed, I’ve been committed since day one,” Parker said.
“My aim is and my ambition is to make this football club as strong and as successful as possible.
“That will always be my ambition. That’s never changed.”
Fulham had turned their season around from conceding 10 goals in their opening three matches. Indeed, over the winter they managed to close a 10-point gap to safety to just two points.
However, towards the end of the season they fell short, securing just one point from seven as their relegation was sealed.
Reflecting on the season as a whole, Parker said: “I think we had a 20-day turnaround from Wembley to then coming back in. Those days were very, very short.
“We went into this season with a very young squad. An inexperienced squad. I’ve said it before. I think our highest Premier League appearance player was Ruben Loftus-Cheek.
“It was going to be a challenge for us. I think we understood that. At the start of the season, getting to grips with this league and trying to get a team together that could quickly be competitive was a challenge.
“I think that is the disappointing factor at the end of the season. Because I felt that the players and the team improved drastically. We became very competitive. Defensively, we became more solid.
“Of course as quickly as that came along then, all of a sudden, we found ourselves getting a lot of draws, so we needed to win football matches and try and score some goals. We have probably fallen a bit short in that area.”
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Parker backs Mitrovic to stay
Another man tipped to leave this summer is Aleksander Mitrovic.
The Serbian striker has failed to hit the heights expected of him this summer, scoring just three goals all season.
Despite that, he remains a man in demand with Roma among those to be linked.
Parker, though, does not expect him to depart Craven Cottage this summer.
“I see no reason why (Mitrovic would not be here next season),” Parker said.
“He’s under contract. I’m not sure how long he has got but he’s got a considerable amount of time on his contract. I don’t see why that won’t be the case.”
READ MORE: Tottenham star becomes Serie A club’s top target to replace captain
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