Simon Grayson has heaped lavish praise on the commitment and work rate of assistant boss Tony Parkes and first-team coach Steve Thompson.The pair earlier this week both signed new deals to keep them at Bloomfield Road until at least 2010, and Grayson is delighted at the news.

"At times, it's the manager who gets the praise and the stick as well, but we're a good group, we work hard together and what we try and do is try and make sure the players are always improving," Grayson told the club's official website.

"At this moment in time we are moving the club forward, the players are moving forward and it's down to them two [Parkes and Thompson] with a lot of the hard work they're doing as well."

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