Parker and Fulham 'discussing plans' for next season | OneFootball

Scott Parker said he is already discussing plans for next season, including recruitment, with Fulham's board despite his position as manager on a permanent basis not yet being confirmed.

The Cottagers picked up their first Premier League away win of 2018-19 after Aleksandar Mitrovic's second-half penalty earned them a 1-0 success over Bournemouth one week after they beat Everton 2-0 at home.

Back-to-back victories have strengthened caretaker boss Parker's chances of being handed the reins next season, despite the former midfielder having failed to prevent the club from being relegated to the Championship since taking charge of the team in February.

"We need to build, we need to talk, and obviously we're doing that," Parker told Sky Sports.

"[We're] discussing recruitment, discussing plans for next year. We've had a taste of what the Premier League is like and we want to get back into it.

"We're working every day as hard as we can as staff and as players. We're trying to improve and I think you've seen evidence of that in the last couple of weeks.

"These things take time and the players have been very receptive of the ideas and you've seen evidence of that in the performances.

"I can control the team, set the team up with a real understanding of what they have to do, with a clear direction and identity. That's the most important thing for me. They were a credit to themselves today."

Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe cut a disappointed figure after losing his 500th game in charge of the Cherries, and cited injuries to Adam Smith and Junior Stanislas as being pivotal.

Smith pulled up with a problem during the warm-up and Stanislas replaced him in the starting line-up but had to be substituted after injuring his knee while taking a 23rd-minute free-kick.

Howe said: "It was quite bizarre to lose two players in the same position, and at that stage we had started really brightly. We were really pleased with how we were playing, there was a really good tempo about the team and that seemed to rock our shape really.

"We didn't get our balance back despite various attempts to try and find that we never quite got back in the match.

"Credit to Fulham. They fought, they battled and we are very frustrated we haven't got the result."