Sunday lunchtime sees two men held in the highest regard by Fulham fans go head-to-head at Selhurst Park.
And Roy Hodgson can also count Scott Parker among his many admirers for what he’s done in the game, with our Head Coach expecting a difficult encounter with Crystal Palace.
“He’s a very good man, Roy,” Parker said in Friday’s pre-match press conference. “His personal skills, the way he is as a human being, in terms of his relationship with the players, is very good as well.
“I’ve nothing but admiration and respect for Roy. I played under Roy with England and I know the detail and how well organised his teams are, and I think you see that in this Palace team.
“At times they’ve been very good this year and picked up some really good results, so it will be a tough game for us at the weekend, we understand that.
“They beat us early on in the season so it’s certainly a game we want to try and go into and win.”
Fulham’s recent form has moved us to within three points of Newcastle United in 17th, but when asked if there were other teams that we’re looking to reel in, Parker reiterated that the sole mindset is on what his team does.
“To be fair, I’m honestly not focusing on that, I’m not focusing on who’s in it, who’s around it,” he said. “My message has been very consistent throughout this season and it remains the same.
“We can’t control what others are doing. We’ve all seen over the course of the season that teams who put runs together can get themselves out of positions. That’s our main focus.
“We’ve come out of a busy schedule last week where we got some points on the board and did very, very well, and that’s the main aim going forward.
“Who we drag in, who’s around us, is irrelevant really. With 13 games left, I know if we win games, we’ll stay up.
“That’s the main focus, otherwise it’s a rollercoaster of emotions every weekend.
“I want us to worry about us, and that’s what we’ve done this year very, very well, and we’ll continue to do that.”