New Burnley boss Scott Parker on what he learned from Thomas Tuchel talks while he was out of work

Before his appointment as Burnley’s new head coach, the 43-year-old had been out of work since leaving Club Brugge in March 2023.

During that time, Parker was able to reflect on his spells with Fulham, Bournemouth and Brugge and take a breather from the relentless nature of the game.

When asked what he learned from his time away from the game, Parker said: “A number of things really. The most important thing is just rationalising things a little bit in terms of understanding certain things, certain dynamics and how you structure things. There was a bit of that.

“I also spent some time working with some different coaches to see how they work and their processes.

“The main thing was just taking some air really, taking some oxygen to clear everything and spend some time with the family, getting ready for the position I’m in now.”

While Parker recognised the importance of taking a break from the game, it didn’t stop him from travelling the world and speaking to various coaches to continue his development.

One of the coaches he spent time with was former Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel, who has been replaced by Vincent Kompany after a short-lived spell at Bayern Munich.

“I spent some time with Thomas Tuchel during that period, just speaking, chatting and watching him work,” Parker explained.

“I was speaking to different people I know or previous managers who I’ve bumped into. But the biggest chunk of that was probably with Thomas.

“The main thing is he was probably in the same position as I was, because I was only in a position for eight weeks when I lost my job at Brugge, having just had the disappointment of losing my job at Bournemouth as well.

“He put a bit of context and understanding on it, because he’s been in similar situations.

“Obviously the general aura of someone like Thomas, he’s an incredible person and an incredible manager, seeing someone like him work and getting advice from him was pretty good really.”