Parker promises victories and cruelty to Belgian champion club Bruges

January 5 - Just four months after being sacked by Bournemouth, Scott Parker has taken over from Carl Hoefkens as manager of Belgian champions Club Brugge.

"The club oozes professionalism," Parker told a press conference. “It was immediately apparent from all previous conversations. The ambition of the club corresponds to my personality. I want to be the best version of myself here. The team is ready for it. There are a lot of talented people in the team. We have to become ruthless and bring dominant football. That's what I stand for."

The 42-year-old's first managerial job was at Craven Cottage before moving to Bournemouth in 2021, but a poor run of results led to his dismissal at Vitality Stadium.

Having promoted Fulham and Bournemouth to the Premier League, Parker is seen as one of Britain's most interesting young managers, but he will have his work cut out at Brugge, who are down 12 points behind league leaders Genk in Belgium. first flight, fourth with 34 points after 18 matches.

"We have to be ambitious, but also realistic," Parker said. “I will have to find out in the coming weeks what the difficulties and obstacles are for us. We'll start by winning games first."

Parker succeeds Hoefkens, who succeeded Alfred Schreuder. Hoefkens had been the internal choice and achieved outstanding results in the Champions League, with the Belgian club reaching the second round for the first time. In February, they will meet Benfica for a place in the quarter-finals.

Domestic results cost Hoefkens his job, however, with a loss to STVV in the Belgian Cup and a 1-1 league draw against OH Leuven proving to be the last straw for the hierarchy of the club.

On Sunday, Parker will face a baptism of fire when Club Brugge take on Genk.

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