Scott Parker backed by Fulham FC board as club push to bring in much-needed reinforcements

Scott Parker retains the full backing of his Fulham bosses despite their dismal start to the season.

Fulham - who sacked two managers across their last Premier League season before giving Parker the reins - have lost their first three games this season, conceding ten goals in doing so.

The board are certain they will back their manager with defensive additions before the window closes next week after director of football Tony Khan revealed last night that they had missed out on five targets , claiming two had tested positive for coronavirus during talks. It remains possible that the Cottagers could return for those targets should they recover in time.

Parker's side were abject at the back against Aston Villa last night, letting Jack Grealish in after just four minutes to open the scoring despite having switched to a back five to shore things up. It did not improve from there as Conor Hourihane and Tyrone Mings added goals either side of half time, with none in the Fulham back line taking any responsibility to address the problem.

With less than a week to go before the window closes for deals done with clubs outside the Football League, Parker bemoaned the lack of leadership in his side and says everyone at the club is acutely aware of the need to address it.

“In terms of defending, we weren’t good enough," Parker said. "We’ve not been good enough for the first three games this season. We need to address that. We all realise we need to address that.

“We need to bring some defenders in with personality, with experience. It’s not new.

“I don’t want to be over critical of the boys because they’ve been first class for me. But these boys need help as well. When you move up from the Championship to the Premier League, the team evolves. You need to bring players in that can make the squad better and push the other players on.

“We all recognise that. You don’t have to know the game inside out to see that really.”

While defenders are clearly the priority, Fulham are also keen to add some more creative talent going forward in order to reduce the burden on Aleksandar Mitrovic's shoulders. The striker - the Championship golden boot winner last year - passed up a number of chances from crosses last night, mustering just one shot on target from six attempts.