According to reports, when Scott Parker was appointed as Burnley’s manager last summer, he took charge of a team in need of major rebuilding—much like his own managerial reputation. But on Monday night, when a 2-1 victory over Sheffield United secured direct promotion to the Premier League, it was clear both missions had been accomplished.

For the third time in six seasons and with a third different club, the former England midfielder has taken a team to the top flight of English football. Only Neil Warnock, with four promotions, has a better record—achieved over 28 years. If Vincent Kompany’s reward for Burnley’s promotion was a move to Bayern Munich, what price will a Premier League club now pay to secure Parker’s services?

Parker is now undoubtedly deserving of the title ‘Promotion Specialist,’ but last summer, when he was chosen as Kompany’s successor, there were no signs of this remarkable season. He was on a shortlist that included names like Frank Lampard and Ruud van Nistelrooy.

Parker had been away from football for 16 months, following a disastrous 12-game spell with Club Brugge that yielded just two wins and ended in a humiliating 7-1 aggregate defeat to Benfica in the Champions League round of 16.

His tenures at Fulham and Bournemouth also ended in dismissals—the latter just four weeks into the Premier League season after a 9-0 defeat to Liverpool, despite having led the same team to promotion months earlier. Nine months later, all doubts about Parker’s abilities seem to have completely vanished.

Parker’s first challenge was completing the rebuild of a team undergoing major changes after relegation to the Championship—changes that continued throughout the season. In the summer alone, 23 players left and 16 new players arrived, one reason why Parker has used 37 different players in the Championship this season.

However, his first major philosophical decision proved inspirational and ultimately brought his team back to the Premier League: Parker decided to build Burnley’s promotion campaign around a solid defense. This approach led Burnley to set a new club record on Monday night: 31 consecutive unbeaten games! A remarkable achievement for a club that is one of the founding members of the English Football League and is now completing its 126th season.

After conceding against Sheffield United, Burnley’s average goals conceded per game stands at 0.34—a figure that, if they concede no more than two goals in their remaining two games, will see them record the best defensive record in English football history. The current top two spots are held by Liverpool 1978-79 (0.38 goals per game) and Chelsea 2004-05 (0.39 goals per game).

Thus, Parker is not only on course to surpass names like Bob Paisley and José Mourinho but was also a player in Mourinho’s Chelsea team—a sign of where his belief in a defense-first system comes from.