It has been one of the most successful seasons of his career to date for Scott Parker, certainly on a personal level, but it could all go wrong if West Ham are relegated.Here Scott talks about relegation and his England call-up after collecting his award as the Football Writers’ Association’s Footballer of the Year...
Q. It is not looking good at the moment for West Ham – how are you feeling?
A. I would be lying if I said that we had a good opportunity of surviving but there’s still a slight chance we can do something. All we can do is win our final two games.
Q. If you do go down have you thought about the future?
A. I’m like every player. I want to be playing at the highest level I can and that means being in the Premier League. I don’t know what the future holds for me, but for the moment I am still keeping everything crossed that West Ham can still stay up.
Q. Can you put your finger on the reasons why the team have struggled?
A. This is not something that has just happened this season. Last year was similar, albeit we have a better squad this time. It’s not nice and it’s more stressful.
Q. It cannot be easy when you are in the bottom for so long?
A. Everything becomes more difficult. It’s not as enjoyable because you are always looking at other people’s results. It’s quite tiring really.
Q. Are you surprised you are in this position?
A. I always believed that we would get out of it, that we would build something strong enough to climb up the table. I used to be a lot worse and take it home with me but I am better now.
Q. It has been a good year for you personally, collecting this award and being called up for England?
A. I’ve waited a long time and breaking into the England team this season was fantastic. I waited and never gave up hope. There were players in front of me and rightly so but I waited for my chance and hopefully there are a few more caps to come.
