Parker on a high

Scott Parker has spoken of his delight at being named SBOBET Player of the Month for the second time in a row.

The midfielder was inspirational in December, especially in helping the team to a 1-1 draw against Chelsea and 2-0 defeat of Portsmouth at the Boleyn Ground. He had also been singled out as the fans' favourite in the previous month as well to underline just why he is the reigning Hammer of the Year.

"It is nice to receive awards like this, especially from our own supporters," Parker said. He took 73 per cent of the vote, with nearly 5,000 users of whufc.com having their say. "As I said last month, the priority is winning as a team but it is nice to win personal things like this as well."

With Sunday's match called off, Parker will be confident of returning to Gianfranco Zola's squad in time for next week's trip to Aston Villa. He has been working hard to overcome a minor hamstring injury of late that saw him miss the FA Cup tie with Arsenal last weekend and limp out against Tottenham Hotspur on 28 December.

Parker added: "The last couple of months have gone well for me, I have been a bit frustrated to be injured the last couple of weeks but, hopefully, I should be back soon. Everyone is working hard as a team together to play as well as we can and achieve results. That is our only aim."