Mike Jackson explains why Burnley players were left shocked by Scott Parker exit
The close bond Scott Parker built with his players is the main reason behind the shock at his recent Burnley departure.
That’s according to interim boss Mike Jackson, who echoed what many Burnley players said in the wake of Parker’s recent exit from Turf Moor.
Several Clarets players took to social media to say their goodbyes, with many penning lengthy messages about how much Parker meant to them.
It received a backlash from some fans, who have questioned why there’s so much surprise and upset given Burnley’s poor season, with Parker winning just one of his last 26 league games before his departure.
But Jackson, speaking yesterday ahead of Sunday’s clash against Aston Villa, suggests it’s down to a relationship that goes beyond football.
“I think always in football, you always get judged by results. It's just the way it is,” he said.
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“People could say: ‘well, it could have happened earlier’ or ‘it shouldn't have happened at all’, but I just think with the timing of it, what can you do? Decisions just get made.
“I think the shock of it is more than anything. I think, people don't understand outside of football, that the relationship a manager builds with a player and it's not every player, but it can be quite a bit.
“They've had these players for two years and some of them, like Jaidon Anthony, they've been through a lot with them. There's a care between them and they've been through everything.
“So when things like that happen, it's just like something in your world and you lose a mate or something happens, you're going to feel shocked. You're going to feel disappointed.
“So I think that's the big thing, is the relationship that he built with the players, that it shocked a lot of them because they were very, very close to him as well.”
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