'The biggest compliment': Burnley coach Mike Jackson on what sets Scott Parker apart from the rest
Scott Parker’s ability to touch the hearts and minds of his Burnley players is what sets him apart.
That’s according to first-team coach Mike Jackson, who will know better than most about Parker’s “excellent” man-management skills having encountered it first-hand in the dressing room and on the training ground on a daily basis.
The Clarets boss encountered a tricky start to life at Turf Moor when much of the squad he inherited was ripped up before the end of last summer’s transfer window.
But Parker was able to mould together a squad that led the club to a second-placed finish, amassing 100 points along the way.
"He really cares about the team,” Jackson told the Burnley Express. "The biggest compliment I can give him is his man management skills are excellent.
"What was left at the end of last season, and the circumstances, what we had to deal with with people leaving, people not wanting to stay, I think the way he managed himself through that was outstanding.
"The biggest compliment I can give him is how he's gone about bringing this group of players together. Ultimately, when you're leading a football team, you've got to get a group of guys to move for you.
"It doesn't matter what people say, you can be an unbelievable coach, technical coach, but if you can't get them to move for you, you can't touch their hearts and you can't touch the emotion, then you're not going to get promoted. You've got to be able to do that as a manager and Scott has.”
Jackson was also part of the coaching staff that won the Championship title during the 2022/23 season under Vincent Kompany.
When asked what this promotion means to him and how it compares to two years ago, the 51-year-old said: “I think obviously after going down last year, and even the time before, each promotion that you get, there's a different story there.
"You're working with a different group of people, but it still means as much. Obviously it's happened in a different way, there's different memories, but this really is a great group of lads. It's been really special.”