Parker worried Fulham could be relying on thin squad at Burnley

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Scott Parker is worried he may be forced to face Burnley on Sunday with a squad of just 14 players – and some of those travelling in dribs and drabs.

The Fulham head coach made little secret of his dissatisfaction at Premier League protocols for numbers needed to play in the midst of a pandemic.


The Whites have been rocked by a number of positive Covid-19 tests that saw the game against Tottenham on Wednesday called off just three hours before kick-off.

“They say 14 players is the cut-off line,” Parker said.

“I’m not sure it’s right you go with 14 players and a three-man bench. I’m not sure we want that as a competition.

“It’s definitely not a level playing field. There are arguments to suggest at this present time it could be unfair in that sense, but that’s the world we’re in.”

The squad were tested Friday and they will travel to Burnley on Saturday afternoon knowing any late test returns could see some players travel to Turf Moor separately.

“In an ideal world you’d want everything back before travelling knowing everyone’s clear,” Parker said.

“But that isn’t always the case, and it hasn’t been the case for some time.

“My squad at 9am on Tuesday was 100% and I was planning to train with 25 players. By 9.40am that squad had been dismantled.

“You’d like to think, bearing in mind what’s happened to us this week, we would be high priority – but I don’t know.

“It’s a challenging time and everybody’s under a lot of stress.”