Zian Flemming pays Burnley boss Scott Parker the ultimate compliment as Millwall loan becomes permanent
Zian Flemming has described Burnley boss Scott Parker as the best manager he’s had “by far”.
The 26-year-old would have encountered plenty of coaches during his professional career, which first began in his native Netherlands back in 2017.
Parker though stands out above all the rest, having led the Clarets back to the Premier League with 100 points to their name.
It was far from plain sailing, however, after Burnley encountered a rocky start to the season after their chaotic transfer window.
But the Clarets soon kicked into gear and only missed out on the league title to Leeds United on goal difference only.
“He is by far the best coach I have had,” Flemming said of Parker to Dutch outlet Voetbal International.
“In a new group, he immediately established a top sports culture. You have to work very hard here. The bar is high, every training session, every exercise. Here I can blindly trust the tactical plan every match.
“Then Scott Parker must be a strange guy, you think. But he isn’t even that. Just a great guy. Human, approachable. A bit of a freak, in a good way, in the amount of time and energy he puts into his work.”
Flemming, who is now a permanent Claret following his season-long loan from Millwall, has also been impressed by the way Burnley have approached games under Parker.
“We don’t do that to the point of being naïve [playing from the back]. We haven’t been averse to playing the long ball when the match called for it,” he added.
“Game management, they call it here. I never learned that in the Netherlands, not even at Ajax. Not consciously, at least. I already noticed a big difference at Millwall. To win a match, you have to know when to accelerate or slow down.
“When the keeper has to take a long goal kick, when you have to provoke a foul to regain momentum. Here we train specifically for that, we talk about it, we watch footage.In the Netherlands, clubs are much more focused on their own game principles and the importance of adapting during a match, of being flexible, is underestimated.”