Ryan Sessegnon admits Fulham players want Scott Parker on a permanent basis

Fulham defender Ryan Sessegnon has said that the players within the squad want Scott Parker to take over as the permanent manager of the club at the end of the season. The ex-Cottagers player was handed with the head coach role on an interim basis following the sacking of Claudio Ranieri but this has not improved the club’s results with four successive league defeats.

Speaking exclusively to Standard Sport, he said: "He's changed the mentality [of the squad] in terms of defending the goal and catching teams on the break especially the top six teams. He's really engaged with the fans as well, staying together and not giving up. Yes, of course. I think everyone does, really. He's come in and changed the way we play, you can see again [his impact] around the stadium. It would be good for the club."

Parker is currently the third manager at the helm since the Cottagers’ top-flight comeback but the move has not worked out with four losses on the bounce. As such, they find themselves on the cusp of relegation from the Premier League and the same could be confirmed with another defeat on the road to Watford on Tuesday night.

Based on this, “Parker has not done much in terms of the results on the playing field but the board could consider him for the role nonetheless“, considering the positive atmosphere among the players and supporters despite a frustrating campaign. Elsewhere, the Cottagers can anticipate to lose some of their purchases made last summer with Jean Michel Seri among others unlikely “to consider dropping down“ to the Championship.

Fulham have gone through a tough run with three of the previous four matches against the top six and they are scheduled to face Watford on the road. The west London outfit have nothing to lose with relegation already confirmed, and it remains to be seen whether they can find a way of ending their eight-match losing streak and delay the drop from the top-flight.