Those with Championship experience are backing Scott Parker to get the job done for West Ham. The newly appointed manager has got off to a rocky start but there’s a plethora of ex – professionals lining up to back him to take the Irons back to the Premier League, despite their present lowly status in the Championship.
After all, it’s less than a week since Nuno was removed and Parker installed in his stead – so the biggest problem at present seems managing our own fan expectations. Zero evidence of a “new manager bounce’ and just one point out of six since Parker arrived hasn’t really settled the nerves, though.
Hoarseness but no bounce: New manager Scott Parker has his work cut out
Talk SPORT’s Sam Parkin – a former striker with a huge CV including stints at Chelsea, Millwall and Ipswich, has some words of comfort for worried West Ham fans and board members alike, and has backed Parker to come good – with the only requirement being a little bit of patience:
“I trust with a bit of time he [Parker] will get the front players firing again:
They’ve got too good a player in that dressing room in the front area: We were waxing lyrical about them a few weeks ago and that doesn’t go away overnight.
But in the same summary, Parkin admits, worryingly, that Kilman and Mavropanos aren’t cutting it right now and delivers what I believe is called ‘the kicker’:
” He [Parker] needs to stop conceding goals. The two centre halves are more of an asset in the opposition box to be honest. He’s got a track record of being able to do that, though to be honest.”
The worry for West Ham supporters is that many have tried. Lopetegui, Potter, Nuno tried in vain to make the £40 million man look worth his price tag: Now Scott Parker gets the chance to weld the duo into a passable Championship pairing. The signs aren’t good.