Scott Parker

“You can't build teams with drastic changes or a drastic swing of players.”

“People talk about my age, but you could probably include me in that. I haven't got a lot of experience at international level. I am 30 and one of the oldest in the squad, but I am new to this as well and have not been to a big, big tournament. But this is an evolving England team.”

“We want to see goals and excitement but I am sorry to say that VAR is killing every part of that. You are losing the raw emotion of the game we absolutely love.”

“When you're dealing with 25 men, all with different needs, some with egos, you need to manage that. If you can manage that group you get the best out of them.”

“I really want to make Charlton a stable side in the Premier League but I'd be lying if I said England wasn't in the back of my mind.”

“I don't see as much of a resilience any more. I look at my kids sometimes and it's so easy to jump from one ship to the next.”

“I came from Charlton, and no disrespect to them, but I was there from the age of nine and going to Chelsea when I was 21 or 22, I had never experienced or seen world-class players or people in that sense.”

“I defend and track my runners but, if there's another big asset you need as a midfielder, it's to score goals. I scored goals in the reserves and the youth team but since I've got into the first team I've lost that a little bit.”

“We are trying to make football so pure and sterile it becomes unrealistic.”

“At the back end of my career I'd put myself in the situations you see in changing rooms. Where there is conflict, arguments, fights, players refusing this and that, players kicking off.”

“Confidence is the most key thing in football.”

“Management isn't just about tactics and what happens on the training ground or in a game. Of course you need those skills. But what you also need is people skills.”

“I keep telling the players to enjoy the good moments. There are too many moments in this world currently that are pretty miserable and downbeat, so if there is light at certain times, I want them to enjoy it.”

“I'm not going to be negative and say it's fine to lose three or four on the bounce, of course not, but if it happens, we have to cope with it. I've been involved in relegated teams and they are the ones where a few defeats cripple you and you allow it to become a spiral.”

“World-class midfield players get their share of goals and that's something I want to add to my game.”

“Every day can you drive yourself to improve? Every day can you drive others? In the good teams and the best players I played with that's what they had: self-drive.”

“I now have 10 years' more experience from when I broke into the game. I can deal with disappointments easier, and all of that helps to make me a better player. It's the same in any walk of life, in any job.”

“You always worry about how the players are seeing it when you're losing games, so you've got to keep your messages very clear in their minds.”

“I remember the first time I got paid, I went out and spent my wages on clothes. Style has always been a massive focal point for me.”

“We live in a world and a profession where you win a game, you lose the next one and you're deemed a failure.”