Scott Parker not confident of signing to support ‘immense’ Bobby Decordova-Reid

Fulham manager Scott Parker hailed “unbelievable” Bobby Decordova-Reid but admitted the club do need another striker to boost their bid for top-flight survival.

The Cottagers currently sit third from bottom in the table and five points from safety, but have scored just 15 goals all season, with only Burnley and Sheffield United having netted fewer.

Decordova-Reid is currently Fulham’s top goalscorer with four league goals to his name in 17 appearances and the manager insisted there is more to come from the 27-year-old.

“Bobby’s been immense. He’s been fantastic really,” Parker said.

“When he came into the football club last year it was a main driver for me in terms of getting him in.

“Everything you see with Bobby on the football pitch and the way he conducts himself on it and around it is nothing short of superb really, an unbelievable professional and he deserves to be where he is.

“I’m pleased he’s taken to the Premier League the way he has. Scoring goals, he’s got a great knack of getting himself into positions and looking for a goal.

“He’s been pivotal for us and our success so far this year and the turnaround and there’s still loads more to come from him.”

The Cottagers have failed to find the net on nine occasions this season.

Fulham have just one recognised striker at the club, Aleksandar Mitrovic, who has struggled in front of goal, but Parker said he was not confident of bolstering his forward line in the transfer window.

“We all understand where we may need help with the squad, but whether that happens I’m not confident,” the Fulham boss said.

“I think we need that in that area because we’re light in numbers. We have one recognised striker at our football club in Aleks and he’s been fantastic for us. (Ivan) Cavaleiro has been playing as a nine for us as well and has done remarkably well.

“I feel for competition to help the team evolve in this division, it is an area we need to look at. At the same time I also understand how difficult it is in this present time.”

Parker also revealed captain Tom Cairney has started new treatment to treat an ongoing knee problem.

The 30-year-old has not featured since the 1-1 draw at Newcastle on December 19, and the manager explained he could face weeks on the sidelines.

Parker said before the Chelsea game on January 14 that Cairney had a slight knee issue. However, the midfielder has since been referred to specialists.

“The only update is that he had a different treatment,” the Fulham boss said, after announcing last week that Cairney had been in pain when attempting to strengthen the knee.

“He’s just had a different treatment today on the injury and we’ll just have to see how he reacts to that and if there’s any improvement.

“Obviously the medical team are doing all they can with the resources and going into every avenue with it.

“This is a constant and this is something that has been ongoing for some time now, so we’ll see where we are in a few weeks.”