An emotional, beaming Scott Parker described leading Fulham to promotion as the proudest moment of his career.
A man who has captained England at Wembley, Parker led the Whites to Play-Off glory on Tuesday night at the national stadium, overcoming local rivals Brentford 2-1 after extra-time.
“This is my proudest moment by a long way,” he admitted. “I said to the guys that I think why I’m so proud is because I’ve seen the team grow along a journey which has been tough this year.
“I’m the one that fronts it up on the side of the pitch, the players are the ones out on the pitch, but underneath it all there’s a support mechanism around myself, my family and close friends, and it’s the same with the players. And I’m emotional and proud for them.
“At times this year it’s been very, very difficult. It’s been tough, and when you’re in amongst it and it’s going at 100mph, sometimes you lose sight of other things, family and everything else.
“But throughout all of that, I couldn’t have done what I have over the last year without my amazing staff and amazing network of people around me who make me feel strong when I’m at my weakest.
“I suppose that’s why I’m emotional and very proud, and this is for all those people, and I hope this makes it a little bit worth it.”
Parker initially took caretaker charge of a Fulham side destined for relegation from the Premier League.
But, at the first time of asking, he’s guided the oldest team in London back to the top flight.
“This team 15 months ago was a team that lost most weeks, everyone could see that from the outside, and we let in a lot of goals,” he explained.
“What people didn’t see was a deeper rooted issue at the football club, which had some real gaping wounds and some real issues.
“Along the way we’ve pushed and pushed, tried to change the mentality, trying to change a real way about us, because we knew how important it was, but trying to balance that with an expectation.
“If you’re expected to win a league by 20 points after what had been a disappointing time [in 2018/19], it’s a constant battle.
“I’m proud, because I’ve seen a team that has transformed, but I also see a team that’s still learning and still growing and still needs to improve, but I just feel proud at the moment.”