AFC Bournemouth were one of the three clubs to be promoted to the Premier League this season.
The Cherries appointed Scott Parker as their manager in June 2021 and he helped them return to the top flight after finishing second in the Championship table last season.
Parker, who managed four Premier League games this season, expressed his frustrations over Bournemouth’s transfer policy last summer. The disagreement between the two parties saw the club part ways with the 42-year-old last August.
The former England international returned to management after Club Brugge appointed him as their new manager on New Year’s Eve. Since arriving in Belgium, he has given his first interview to Het Laatste Nieuws.
Parker was quizzed whether his exit from Bournemouth was ‘hard’ on him. Responding to that, he said: “Especially in the beginning it was tough. The older you get, the longer the failures linger. In the beginning of my career, I could live on a win for a week. Also, as a trainer.”
“The scars you sustain along the way dampen that euphoria. Enjoy the weekend and then get back to work, like a child who has to go to school on Monday.”
Parker views guiding Fulham and Bournemouth to the Premier League as success of his managerial career. He discussed this when asked whether his son follows Club Brugge.
“Oh yeah. You can count on that. My nine-year-old son lives here with us. He trains twice a week with the local U9 here. He’s loving it. (laughs) He doesn’t really understand what’s going on, but he enjoys it. Tuesday night I went to watch his training,” Parker explained.
“The coach was speaking. And I saw his face … He runs to one side, while the rest run elsewhere. Wrong, wrong.”
“But that’s football. It brings back fond memories. When I’m ever sitting by the fire as a pensioner, my stories will be about the promotion with Fulham at Wembley, the promotion with Bournemouth… And I hope we’ll talk about Club Brugge too.”
