Fulham caretaker Scott Parker opens up on ‘inspirational’ advice from Sir Alex Ferguson

Parker was announced as Claudio Ranieri's replacement on Thursday

Scott Parker has discussed the emotions he has experienced in the days since being named as Fulham's caretaker manager. The Cottagers sacked Italian manager Claudio Ranieri on Thursday after nine defeats in his previous 10 games, with club owner Shahid Khan saying in the aftermath: "If Scott can answer that challenge, and our players respond to the opportunity, perhaps victories will follow in the months ahead." Speaking ahead of his first game in a dugout against former side Chelsea on Sunday, Parker revealed that he had received a number of calls since being announced as caretaker manager, with one call in particular standing out among the rest. "It's definitely an audition," Parker said. "On a personal note, this is something I started working towards seven years ago when I was a Spurs player. I've got an ambition to be a manager. "I don't have many friends but yesterday my phone was pinging all the time. "[Former Manchester United manager] Sir Alex [Ferguson] found the time to send a long, detailed message giving me advice on how he sees things, which is truly inspirational." Fulham sit 10 points adrift of safety in 19th place in the Premier League, with just 10 games remaining. They've won four games all season, just one more than bottom side Huddersfield Town.