AFC Sudbury’s new signing Ollie Parsons comfortable with ‘pragmatic’ tag after season of progression at Canvey Island

A lot is expected of defenders in the modern game, but AFC Sudbury’s latest addition Ollie Parsons has not lost sight of what is most important – keeping clean sheets.

With their sole remit no longer simply to thwart the opposition, we are witnessing an era where managers and coaches at all levels are encouraging their teams to take risks by playing out from the back.

Yet, while Parsons is comfortable in possession of the ball, by his own admission the Yellows have signed a ‘pragmatic defender’ with a love for ‘1-0 wins’.

“Things have changed in football, but clean sheets and winning your headers and tackles will always be important,” said the 25-year-old, who is Sudbury’s eighth signing of the summer after agreeing to come in from Canvey Island.

“That was largely the remit I was given from Danny (Laws, AFC head coach) when we sat down and spoke for the first time. He was impressed with the video he had watched of me, especially with my ability in the air, and that was a priority for him.

“He said he was happy to be called a pragmatic manager and I think most people that have played with me would say I’m a pragmatic defender.

“I work hard on my game and give plenty of attention to detail to try to improve.

“I do have the ability to play when the time is right, but ultimately I want to provide stability. It might make me sound old school but I get a lot of joy out of clean sheets and 1-0 wins.”

Parsons will arrive at The Mel Group Stadium following a highly productive season at Canvey.

Prior to linking up with the Gulls, he had enjoyed a successful spell a couple of levels below as captain of Loughborough University.

But Parsons believes that life in the Isthmian League Premier Division helped him to become a better all-round defender.

He added: “It was a big step up – physically more than anything. I had to learn to defend against much bigger players and find a way to come out on top.

“And I had to learn to deal with adversity. We enjoyed a lot of success over a number of years at Loughborough, but at a higher level you have to adapt and come back from disappointing results.

“It might be that you’ve lost one or two games and you really need the points, or there are a lot of injuries and you’re playing out of position – they’re big challenges.

“There’s so much more intensity but I’ve not got a bad word to say about my season at Canvey. I developed as a player, we won the Essex Senior Cup and we stayed at Step 3.”

And Parsons sees no reason why the upward trajectory will not continue at Sudbury.

“From the people I’ve spoken to at Sudbury, there’s a confidence and some quiet optimism that we can have a good season,” said Parsons.

“They did brilliantly to stay up towards the back end of last season and there’s no reason why we cannot go into every game looking to pick up three points. Danny has also been big on the importance of a cup run – personally I’d love to be part of something like that.”