Parker Proud

By Nick Raynor
August 30 2005

Newcastle midfielder Scott Parker insists joining Chelsea 18 months ago was good for him, but he is now happy at Newcastle.

Parker couldn’t hold down a regular place at Chelsea after leaving Charlton to join the blues and was sold on to Newcastle this summer.

 

Parker also says that he had a good relationship with Jose Mourinho.

 

Parker said:

 

"Mourinho is a man you can speak to,"

 

"He's just a normal bloke. Maybe it's my background, but I like to say it how it is. I'm not the type to be opinionated about others, but when it comes to myself, I want to be frank.

 

"The conversation would always be, 'Makelele's done well, but if he doesn't play, you play. Makelele's getting on a bit and when he stops playing well, you're next in and you'll stay there if you play well'.

 

"And I'd say that I understood. Mourinho was straight with me, although the last conversation I had with him was that I was wanted at Chelsea and I'd play a part in the future.

 

"It was after my injury second half of last season with a broken foot and I came away thinking I'd have a good summer, come back and give it a go.

 

"The next thing, Chelsea were listening to offers for me. But that's life. I turn the page.

 

"As a footballer the last thing you think is, 'I'll stay at Man City or Charlton. I'm not going to go to Chelsea, one of the biggest clubs in the world, because I don't think I'll play'.

 

"You go and see if you can play. You back yourself to succeed. If I had the chance again, I'd have still moved.

 

"Imagine if I'd been sitting at Charlton watching Chelsea win the Premiership and thinking, 'I could have gone there but I didn't have the bottle'."

 

"If somebody told me, 'Newcastle have finished fourth in the Premiership', I wouldn't think they had overachieved, I'd expect them to be up there.

 

"I compared that to certain other clubs who wanted me.

 

"Newcastle have a potential that few can match. I'm impressed with the manager. He's a straight guy, a man's man. As a player, honesty's all you want."