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Phil Parkinson praised chairman Ken Anderson’s persistence as he fought to secure the signing of midfielder Jem Karacan.
Despite facing some opposition from within the Football League and the wider League One fraternity, Wanderers were able to bring the former Reading man in on a short-term deal.
Karacan made his debut at Fleetwood as a late substitute but could play a bigger part at Gillingham tonight. That the 28-year-old is able to feature at all, says Parkinson, is down to the chairman’s connections.
“We worked with the Football League to get the deal over the line because of the injuries we’ve had, the list is endless,” he said. “Ken Anderson has fought tooth and nail because other clubs didn’t want to allow us the ability to bring another player in but he persisted and you have to give him credit for it.
“On top of that, he had a contact in the Turkish Football Association which got the clearance through in about 25 minutes. When we finally got the green light to get the deal done that process can take days.
“He hasn’t played for a while but he is an incredibly fit lad and when we got him in to do the regulation fitness tests Nick Allamby said to us he’s one of the fittest players he’d ever done those particular tests with.
“I said to the chairman in the first week he was with us that he’s worth having on board just with his attitude and his enthusiasm in training alone. Along with Darren Pratley he’s really raised the bar.”
Parkinson is also optimistic that the partnership between Adam Le Fondre and Gary Madine can continue to bear fruit for Wanderers.
“I’m pleased because Alfie’s performances have gradually got better. They work well together.”
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Despite facing some opposition from within the Football League and the wider League One fraternity, Wanderers were able to bring the former Reading man in on a short-term deal.
Karacan made his debut at Fleetwood as a late substitute but could play a bigger part at Gillingham tonight. That the 28-year-old is able to feature at all, says Parkinson, is down to the chairman’s connections.
“We worked with the Football League to get the deal over the line because of the injuries we’ve had, the list is endless,” he said. “Ken Anderson has fought tooth and nail because other clubs didn’t want to allow us the ability to bring another player in but he persisted and you have to give him credit for it.
“On top of that, he had a contact in the Turkish Football Association which got the clearance through in about 25 minutes. When we finally got the green light to get the deal done that process can take days.
“He hasn’t played for a while but he is an incredibly fit lad and when we got him in to do the regulation fitness tests Nick Allamby said to us he’s one of the fittest players he’d ever done those particular tests with.
“I said to the chairman in the first week he was with us that he’s worth having on board just with his attitude and his enthusiasm in training alone. Along with Darren Pratley he’s really raised the bar.”
Parkinson is also optimistic that the partnership between Adam Le Fondre and Gary Madine can continue to bear fruit for Wanderers.
“I’m pleased because Alfie’s performances have gradually got better. They work well together.”
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