Marcelo Bielsa asserts Fulham's Parker has earned his place in England

The 40-year-old Parker will face Bielsa at Craven Cottage on Friday evening, a man who is 25 years younger than his adversary and is trying to flourish his managerial tactics in a difficult situation where they are fighting against relegation.

Bielsa, whose side won last season's

while Fulham additionally got advancement through the play-off games, has been massively intrigued by the manner in which Parker has approached his work this season. 

He said:

"He's a manager who has earned the recognition of all those in the Premier League.

"He's gone through difficult moments in the Championship and in the Premier League and in all of them, he's managed to overcome them by imposing his philosophy, and the system that he uses is a very creative one."

Leeds managed to handle the

well nearly from the start, beating Fulham 4-3 in their second fixture and hang-around in mid-table for most of the 2020/21 season to date. 

However, Parker's squad had much more difficulty staying competitive, winning just two of their initial 22 fixtures prior to having a stint of three wins, two of them against Merseyside rivals Everton and Liverpool, in their last seven to edge themselves to inside two points of the safety zone. 

Bielsa said:

"The idea of the manager is reflected in Fulham's play. In the first round, it was difficult for him to impose his style; in the second round of fixtures, they've started to do this a lot better.

"I remember the style when we faced them in the Championship and it's the same style, but they've managed to impose it in a lot of games in the Premier League.

"Apart from that, they are a team that plays on an even keel in the majority of their games. In the games against top-six teams, they play to impose themselves and not just defend, not to avoid being beaten."

Leeds head for London having won just one of their last six matches and with the Argentinian coach promising to have a delicate plan as he accomplished against the high-flying

Chelsea

at the Elland Road last Saturday.

He said:

"I always consider the same factors: to defend better, to attack better, trying to have the ball and avoid the opponent building up sums of passes, and overcome them with energy, enthusiasm, organisation and the management of the game.

"These are some of the aspects I remember at this time, and there will be no game to which I will not apply these."

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