Three Lancashire clubs show support for critical football coach (From Blackpool Citizen)

Three Lancashire clubs show support for critical football coach

5:21pm Sunday 12th September 2010 in Blackpool FC By Tyrone Marshall, Reporter

PLAYERS and fans showed their support for Lancashire football legend Gary Parkinson who is still 'very poorly' after suffering a stroke.

Three of the clubs he has been involved with rallied around the man known as ‘Parky’ on Saturday.

The former right-back, who scored the Claret's winning goal at Wembley in the 1994 Division Two play-off, has been transferred to the Royal Bolton Hospital from Salford Royal (Hope) Hospital after suffering a massive stroke on Thursday.

Fans of Burnley and Preston, two of the clubs he played for, set aside local rivalries at half-time of their clash at Turf Moor yesterday to applaud as the stadium announcer told supporters of Parkinson’s illness.

The dad-of-three is now head of youth at Blackpool FC and players from the club dedicated their 2-0 win at Newcastle to Parkinson.

After scoring the opening goal midfielder Charlie Adam ran back to the dugout to grab a white t-shirt which had the words “4 Parky” written on it.

Ian Holloway, Blackpool’s manager, said in his column in a national newspaper that part of him didn’t want the game to go ahead.

He said: “Our youth-team coach Gary Parkinson is really poorly and having to break the news to the lads on Friday was the hardest thing I’ve had to do as a manager. Many of us were in tears.”