Scott Parker on brink of leaving Fulham by mutual consent after breakthrough in talks ahead of Bournemouth switch
SCOTT PARKER is on the brink of leaving Fulham by mutual consent.
Boss Parker, 40, has been in talks with the West Londoners for the last ten days over his release.
The ex-England international wants to take over at Bournemouth, who are waiting for his Craven Cottage exit to be confirmed before they swoop.
Fulham have not been willing to cut loose their wantaway manager – who has two years on his £3.5million-a-season contract still to run – without being financially compensated.
But after days of negotiations, a breakthrough appears to have been reached and it is now a matter of time before his departure is announced.
As SunSport revealed this week, Parker will not be receiving any severance pay.
The former West Ham and Tottenham star guided Fulham to the Premier League via the play-offs last summer.
But he could not prevent an instant relegation back to the Championship and his relationship with the owners turned fractious.
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Bournemouth wanted to appoint him last summer but were scuppered by the Cottagers’ Wembley triumph.
He remains their No1 target to succeed Jonathan Woodgate, whose short-term contract expires at the end of the season.
Fulham were relegated to the Championship for the second time in three seasons with games to spare.
Parker said of the relegation: “I’m hurt, I’m gutted.
“This has been looming us, we’ve flirted with it for a long time, there are no words that I can say other than I am gutted we have not been successful this year.
“Staying in this division was a success for us, we knew it was always going to be a challenge, but it is bitterly disappointing not to do that.
“That game probably sums up our season. In between both boxes this year we’ve had our moments and looked a good side, but where we have fallen short is the other side of that.
“Tonight, defensively, the two goals are poor goals, and when we got the ball in the area in those clinical moments where you need the final details and criticalness, we fell short.
“While we have had progression, we have fallen short at this level.
“There is no denying that, that is why we have been relegated.
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“We need to work out what we need to do to improve that, not just as players and a team but as a football club. We’ve had a relegation, promotion, and relegation.
“After the highs and lows of that journey, we need to find how we can keep a level about us. That is the next task.
“The performance levels have been there, the fine margins and gulf in class in this division are so small. We’ve been so close at times but yet so far.
“Over the last five or six games, we’ve just fallen short. We need to work out very quickly as football club where we went wrong this year.
“We’re on a rollercoaster – relegation, promotion, relegation – now is not the time to talk about it, but we certainly need to make some big decisions, we need to understand what we need to do and where we need to improve, and transfers are definitely going to be an area we look at.”