TOM Parkes is hoping to extend his stay with Burton Albion to the end of the season after bringing to an end his five-month injury nightmare.
The 20-year-old central defender joined the Brewers on loan for a third time at the start of the season, but he suffered a broken ankle in the 1-1 home draw with Port Vale on August 16.
However, he is now fully recovered and, after making a surprise return to the Brewers’ squad for the 2-1 defeat at Plymouth Argyle, he played the full 90 minutes — at left-back — in Saturday’s 1- 1 draw at Bradford City.
His loan deal runs out this week, but the defender is eager to stay with the Brewers and help them maintain their push for promotion from League Two.
He said: “Yes, of course I want to stay. I like being at Burton, it’s a great club, and this season they’re pushing on very well.
“I want to be part of that, but it’s up to the manager.
“The boys keep asking me if I’m gonna stay and I keep telling them that I wanna stay, I wanna get games and I wanna play for Burton Albion and try and get into the play-offs this season.
“If not, I’ll go back to Leicester and try and work hard at Leicester.
“Hopefully the manager will turn round to me and say he wants to keep me to the end of the season or something.” Manager Paul Peschisolido revealed after the game that he had opened talks with the Foxes regarding Parkes but, whatever happens, the player is delighted to be back in action.
“I’m delighted to be back in action. I’ve been out a good four to five months after breaking my ankle.
“I travelled last week to Plymouth and I was very surprised to be on the bench, so to be back for two weeks and starting my first game in a completely opposite place to where I normally play, I’m happy. And I’m happy with the way I played as well.
“I feel fine fitness-wise. I said after the game to the manager that I feel good — I felt good out there.” When asked how frustrating it must have been to have suffered such a bad injury so early in the season, the Mansfield-born defender said: “It’s one of those things.
It’s happened and I went back to Leicester and worked hard, I’ve done everything right to get right.” Parkes is in his third spell with the Brewers and has the unfortunate record of having been sent off on two of his ‘debuts’ — in the 3-0 defeat at Oxford United on March 27, 2011, and in the 2-2 draw at Torquay United on the opening day of this season.
He could have seen red on Saturday having been booked for a foul on Bantams striker Nahki Wells after just five minutes, but the youngster kept his cool and helped the Brewers end a run of three straight league defeats.
He said: “I just went a bit late for a challenge and the referee told me to calm down, and the gaffer told me to be steady, so after that I just calmed down and I stayed on the pitch!
“He (Peschisolido) wanted me to stay on the pitch and, being my first game back for the new year, that’s what I wanted to do as well.”
Parkes admitted it was a tricky afternoon for defenders on a surface which cut up rapidly and with wind and rain swirling around the Coral Windows Stadium — especially in his first game for five months.
He said: “They were difficult conditions because in your mind you think you can win a ball but it can just slip away with the conditions, so you can make a bad tackle or it can be a good tackle.”
Parkes felt it was vital for the Brewers to halt their losing run as soon as possible and said his side deserved a share of the spoils.
They fell behind two minutes before half-time when centre-back Ryan Austin was perhaps harshly penalised for a foul on striker James Hanson.
Defender Andrew Davies stepped up and curled the 25- yard free-kick over the wall and over goalkeeper Ross Atkins, whose positioning has to be questioned.
It looked like being another disappointing afternoon for the Brewers until young striker Adi Yussuf turned home fellow substitute Chris Palmer’s cross with six minutes to go.
Said Parkes: “I’ve got to give the player who scored the free-kick credit because it was a great goal, but was it a freekick?
“Well, that’s the referee’s decision ain’t it? “We went one-nil down but we all stuck together and we worked hard to get a point out of the game, and I think the point we’ve got today is well deserved.
“It was very important to get a point — something out of the game — after three defeats before.
“Four wouldn’t have been nice.
“I think we deserved a point at least.” Bradford manager Phil Parkinson was pleased with his side’s efforts, but disappointed to only take a draw after leading.
He said: “It's a bad one to take but it's a cruel game is football and little bits of details on the ball cost us.
“The effort of the lads today although I couldn't fault.
“We've got to take heart from the way were playing and the positions were getting to, but I couldn't ask for more.”
