‘WE CAN TURN TABLES’ – DEAN
Returning Parrett wants Boro to fly high
DEAN Parrett’s return to Stevenage hasn’t got off to the start he would have liked, but he’s convinced good times are just around the corner.
The 27-year-old midfielder played for Boro from 2013 to 2016 after leaving Spurs and returned in the summer after spells with AFC Wimbledon and Gillingham.
He featured in their opening three games, scoring against Southend in the Carabao
Cup, but was then sidelined with a knee injury for two months.
In that time, Stevenage struggled and manager Dino Maamria was sacked. There have been signs of an improvement under caretaker-boss Mark Sampson, though Boro remain second bottom in League Two.
Journey
Yet Parrett is optimistic that things can get back on track with games against fellow strugglers Oldham – managed by Maamria – and Walsall on the horizon.
“We need to start getting results against the teams around us. Then we can start looking up the table,” said Parrett.
“The team did very well last season (Boro finished tenth) and I thought we would be pushing for the play-off places again this year, but we had a few sticky results and ended up getting ourselves in a tricky situation.
“The thing with this league is that things can change so quickly – all we need to do is put a few results together and we will be fine. Mark is very detailed in what he wants and how he trains, and his messages are very clear – he is one of the better managers I’ve worked under.
“I have just got to show him why I should be in the team when I get my opportunities to play now.
“Top half of the table would nice and you can never plan to finish off worse than you did the previous season.”
Parrett had no hesitation when Stevenage came calling.
“When the manager (Maamria) indicated he wanted to bring me back, I thought it was a really good opportunity,” he said.
“I feel as though I started my professional career here after I left Spurs so I have got a soft spot for the club – they have done a lot for me. It was nice to come back and see all the old faces, and the fans gave me a warm reception too, which was nice.”
Parrett joined Spurs as a 15-year-old and was tipped to make a breakthrough but struggled under four different managers before his departure.
Learning
But it was training alongside world-class players and making friends that he valued the most from his time in north London.
“I spent six years there and trained and played with some very good players,” he said. “I had the opportunity to learn from the likes of Luka Modric.
“There were some personalities around like Dimitar Berbatov and Jermain Defoe and my age group had some very good players in it too like Ryan Mabe son, Andros Townsend and Steven Caulker.
“It is good to be in that environment with good players because it pushes you every day to get better, but the hardest thing was the constant changing of the managers.
“Twice I worked my way up to the first-team, first under Martin Jol and then Juande Ramos, and then I made my debut under Harry Redknapp.
“I was playing as an England youth international and travelled the world playing football, captaining my country and making friends along the way – so I look back on that positively.”