Boro boss hails spirit of Parky and 1986

As revealed in The Northern Echo on Monday, Boro's former full-back is now rating potential targets while battling to emerge from locked-in syndrome, which was the result of a stroke in the stem of his brain.

Parkinson's situation has attracted attention from around the world, with enormous sympathy being felt for the 43-year-old and his family, who have been supporting him ever since he was left paralysed in September last year.

But there has also been incredible support from his former team-mates, many of which form part of the backroom team at his first club under the management of Mowbray.

And the Middlesbrough manager has been explaining how the bond between the squad of 1986, which delivered back-to-back promotions after a period of liquidation, has been shining through; acting as the driving force behind trying to help Parkinson.

"Successful teams create a bond," said Mowbray. "We might have only been successful to the level we were in at the time, we weren't winning the old Division One, we were not Liverpool in the Eighties, but we were successful.

"I bet the Liverpool teams of the Eighties - Alan Hansen, (Mark) Lawrenson, Gary Gillespie - would all be a tight group too. They would have a bond that will stand the test of time, like we have.

"Maybe football has changed a bit. We were all from the same area and it was generally a team of local lads, except for Bernie Slaven, who came down and integrated.

"And it's fair comment to say that, with the influx of foreign players, it might not be the same nowadays. Some foreign players have a strong connection with the teams they play for, but that was a locally produced team, with a special bond."

While the friendship between old team-mates has certainly been the key factor in the decision to take DVDs of potential transfer targets down to watch, Mowbray insists Parkinson's opinion is also highly valued.

First team coach Mark Proctor was the instigator of the move, having been a regular at the Priory Highbank neurological rehabilitation centre in Bury. And Proctor has regularly driven across the Pennines to get Parkinson's verdict. "We send him DVDs that have already been edited by our staff," said Mowbray. "He just concentrates on one footballer that has a big yellow circle around him every time he comes on the screen."

Parkinson, who can only use his eyelids to communicate because he has lost the ability to speak, looks up when his wife, Deborah, goes through a scale of "one" to "four" - with "four" indicating that he likes him.

"What's incredible is that he is so switched on," said Mowbray. "If a joke is told he will be laughing. It has not diminished his capability, mentally. It's just his body can't move.

"It's good to see someone with the personality of Mark Proctor making him laugh. Proc has put a lot in to Parky. He takes the DVDs."

Given that the window for emergency loan signings closed on Thursday, Mowbray is now looking at the bigger picture. There could be movement in January, but the likelihood is that new signings would only replace players that are sold.

"There is unlikely to be a scenario where there will be someone in and nothing out," he said ahead of this afternoon's trip to Peterborough United. "I should not be saying that definitively because the chairman might think ‘let's push the boat out and let's push us over the line'. But I'm working to a scenario where I don't think that will happen."Financially we are where we want to be. The chairman is comfortable with it, he will still lose a lot of money this year. Anything that helps the books this year will be beneficial. Financially we are trying to be prudent."

And Mowbray will not be worrying too much about the failure to bring in any further signings before the loan deadline arrived.

He said: "We are fine. Number wise we are OK. We can't just keep adding footballers, we need to create space before adding one or two. Financially we could do with the phone ringing once or twice but it isn't."