THE stresses and strains of seven-days-a-week commitment to the job took their toll on Kenny Dalglish.

Sunderland supporters were driven to tell their boss to "Cheer up Peter Reid" in a tune from the terraces.

And it's easy to spot the tell-tale signs that set the soccer boss apart from the crowd.

He's usually the one with the gaunt features, the haunted, haggard look and greying hair.

Unless your name is...Tony Parkes.

No-one needs to tell Tony to cheer up, he's determined to smile his way out of the relegation places - though not into the job on a permanent basis.

Ewood Park's man for all seasons is quite content to wear the Blackburn Rovers caretaker-manager label for as long as necessary.

And he won't let the situation get to him - Stress? What stress?

True, there might have been a little nail-biting in the past week. But, generally speaking, Parkes is still revelling in the role.

And his unique handling of a Press conference has the national media in a stew - not sure which way to take it when they meet a manager who laughs and jokes yet also answers their questions as fully and frankly as possible. I can tell them which way to take it in Tony's own words:

"With me, what you see is what you get."

After answering the same old question "Do you want the job?" with the same answer "No", he enjoyed a harmless little wind-up of the oh-so-serious media after the victory against Southampton.

"It's different being the caretaker-manager," he grinned in response to an attempted grilling as to why he should not be stressed out by the task.

"You get a bunch of keys, do a bit of training, lock up when everyone's gone and here we are on a Saturday afternoon again.

"It's probably because it's short term. But there's no other manager like me. I want to be a happy-go-lucky type of chap."

The fact is that, while the infectious enthusiasm and quick wit are quite normal, Tony's secret is that, underneath, he is deadly serious about the job he has been handed on a temporary basis.

But it still won't change him. "I think that when they talk about pressure and stress, it's when you fear the worst. When you don't actually know what's going to happen," he explained.

"People say I don't seem to be as stressed as other managers. If I'm not, then I don't really know what it is.

"It certainly hasn't got to me, it hasn't affected me in any way at all.

"Possibly because I know it's going to end very soon.

"I can't make too many changes or do too many things because I know that I am probably not going to be in this chair in another week, or two or three.

"So for me to change drastically and then go back as say a coach or an assistant manager - if that's what I am going to be - to the players and try to be different, well you just can't.

"It's not a natural thing to do. "So what you see is what you get. I would be pretty much the same whatever we were talking about. I can't be doing with moaning and groaning, negative things and making excuses.

"I am positive in my thoughts towards the club and the players."

The media at large don't quite know what to make of Parkes, looking for something which isn't there.

Results and performances are the best yardstick by which to judge Parkes. He loves a laugh, but he's deadly serious that the job comes first.

And he's also determined it won't wipe the smile off his face.

He left Saturday's Press conference with a twinkle in his eye and a parting shot - "Mr Graeme Souness will be up soon to put you right. He's a proper manager!"

Most Rovers fans long since applied that description to Tony Parkes.

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