SCOTT PARKER has revealed how long talks with Thomas Tuchel helped him get over the pain of being sacked.
Parker was unveiled as Vincent Kompany’s successor as Burnley boss – four months on from being dumped by Club Bruges after just 12 games in charge.
He was also dismissed by Bournemouth after a 9-0 humiliation by Liverpool four games into the season having just guided the Cherries back into the Prem.
Now he is charged with returning the Clarets to the top flight having also won promotion from the Championship with Fulham.
Advice from Tuchel, himself sacked by Chelsea two years ago and now out of work with Kompany having replaced him at Bayern Munich, eased Parker’s pain after his March dismissal in Belgium.
He spent several days with the German during the Bundesliga club’s spring training break in Portugal and says: “Setbacks are part of life.
“But when you’re in this job you are on a treadmill, like it’s the be all and end all of everything.
“Sometimes you just need time to reflect because you’re disappointed, you’re sad, upset and it’s not till you step off it that you become a little bit more rational.”
Parker’s time with Tuchel was set up by mutual friends and he says: “It’s even more helpful when there’s someone who’s been in the same position as you.
“At another level to me when it comes to where he’s been and who he’s managed – Thomas is a world-class elite manager.
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“But he’s saying the same things as me or has experienced the same things.
“So to hear that was refreshing in that moment and now I’m really happy and excited and enthusiastic to have this opportunity.”
Parker, who signed a three-year deal at the weekend, added: “I’ve got something to prove, the club has something to prove – and I’ve built up the energy and the passion again.”
Some Burnley fans are not as excited about Parker’s entrance because his style of play is not as attack minded as Kompany’s.
Be he adds: “I was a young boy from inner-city London and a housing estate. The people here in Burnley represent the same values I grew up with.
“There will be no stone unturned to get us back into the Premier League – this team will have a big heart and a big soul.
“The aim is to go straight back up again – Vincent left behind the bones of a very good squad.”
