CHERRIES boss Scott Parker came out with an emotional outpouring after his side finished their promotion winning campaign.
Kieffer Moore came off the bench to score the sole goal in Cherries’ 1-0 win over Millwall.
At times Parker has received criticism from fans and media alike over the course of the season for style of play and form, leaving the former Fulham boss to clearly feel vindicated after securing Cherries’ return to the top-flight in his first season in Dorset.
When asked by the Daily Echo how goalkeeper Mark Travers would fare in the next division, Parker initially replied: “That’s the next test for him.
“That's the next test for the majority of these. That's the bottom line now.
“The next test for these, is can you now step up at the next level and can you produce a performance and can you be a player that can be around the Premier League?
“And that's a test for a lot of these players.
“All of a sudden, these players that we know now are going up to that, and they're going to experience what Mark Travers, Jordan Zemura, Jaidon Anthony, Gavin Kilkenny, these players experienced this year, a lot more of the squad are going to experience that next year.”
Parker then went onto share that he felt his side “needs absolute full credit” for achieving promotion, believing that meeting pre-season expectations was an accomplishment in itself.
“What I can say is, these players - I'm not involved or I don't look at media,” added Parker.
“I don't look at what’s been said about them.
“I have an understanding of it and the understanding is the narrative, what might be said that there's a huge squad here, what’s got x-amount of money.
“The facts are the facts. And I always judge something on the facts. I don't judge it on hearsay. And what are the facts? The facts are, at the end of the season, this team sit two points behind a team that everyone perceives as running away with it.
“And they did. They were a top side – we’re two points behind them. We're a team that at the start of the season, needed to get promotion.
“And when it all comes down to it, we got promoted and they're the facts.
“So people want to look at this player, that player like you've seen this season. There are teams in this division that have come out of the Premier League and not in play-offs. There are teams in this division that have just managed to get into play-offs.
“Like you've seen over the course of time, that's what happens. The facts are this team have got promoted. When you've got whatever you've got, you need to get the job done and you need to do it.
“And maybe that's easier said than done, or maybe people see it as well ‘yeah, you should do it’.
“Well, history should tell you and the facts should tell you, it's not like that.
“And I believe that this team needs absolute full credit for what they've done.”
Detailing why exactly he felt his side deserved more credit, Parker stated: “The journey what they’ve been on, the bumps that they've had, the pressure they've been involved in, my staff, myself.
“There was a job to be done here.
“This team come sixth last year, come out in the playoffs, sold a player which is now occupying the Champions League, for 20-odd million.
“Sold Begovic, sold Rico, we replaced them with kids. Absolute kids. And I've never been as one to front it up like I have.
“But why is that? Because I can front it up now. I can front it up now because it's done and we got there.
“And when it's all said and done, people can say what they want to say. I think history tells you it's a lot easier said than done, and full credit to my group of players for doing that really.”
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