Kaizer Chiefs midfield leader Bernard Parker has shown publicly his desire to stay at the club and extend his expiring contract.
Parker will become a free agent in June if his current contract is not extended and though he wants to stay, he understands that his future isn’t in his own hands and will respect whatever the Chiefs hierarchy decides over his future at the club.
“It is up to the management to decide if they want to keep me,” Parker said in an interview.
“Chiefs are very much in my heart. Chiefs are my family and I definitely want to continue, and I am enjoying my football at the moment.”
After another lackluster performance against Black Leopards which led to a 2-1 loss, Amakhosi were once again subject to much criticism regarding their performances in the league.
The team who pulled of a surprising CAF Champions League victory over Simba SC currently sit 11th in the league and will need a good run of form as quickly as possible in order to prevent being sucked into a relegation dogfight. They are currently five points clear of the drop.
“We have a huge challenge ahead with three games to go domestically, and we definitely want to obtain maximum points in these three matches to get into the top eight,” said Parker.
“On the continental front, we are happy we have reached the semi-finals of the Champions League and we are looking forward to it. What is good for us is that we played against Wydad [semi-final opponents] in the group stages, but we must be thoroughly prepared to achieve our goals.”
The 35 year old veteran has also blamed their performances in the League on the FIFA transfer ban. He also claimed that the adversity they faced has made them tough enough to be strong contenders in the continental competition.
“The challenges we have faced in the league have made us stronger in the Champions League. It’s two different ball games and I am also sharing my experience with the younger players on our travels on the continent,” added the star.
“We never beefed up the team [due to the ban by the world governing body Fifa], and I am not using this as an excuse.
“We had a knife in our hearts after losing the league title [to Mamelodi Sundowns] on the last day of last season. We give it our all every week, but things at home aren’t going our way.
“With the struggles we are going through in the league, we made history by coming this far in the Champions League and we believe we can go all the way.”