Parker said he was being realistic with his aims for the club this season and explained that he had set out the picture to the players and the squad before the start of the season.

He said: "I want to win more than anyone, I want us to be successful more than anyone, I want to be seventh to 10th in the league this year, but reality tells us that's going to be very, very difficult and not where we will be finishing.

"I know where we're going to be punching this year, and we're going to be punching in and around the bottom four, bottom five, bottom six, but at the same time I want my team to understand that.

"To understand the battles and what we need to do to be successful and realise the peaks and troughs along the way and stay positive, keep staying motivated and understand this is what we need to do and this is where we need to get to and with that I do actually feel that's the best way for us to come out with points and be successful this year.

"There's still a great hope, of course there is. I'm not saying that we can't end up with some good results and end up in 15th or 12th – sure we can but we end up there with a mindset and an understanding of where we are and the dips don't break us."