Parker helped haul the Hammers off the foot of the Premier League, despite being unable to walk 24 hours earlier. Grant revealed he had been resigned to being without the talismanic midfielder for Sunday's game after Parker fell on his shoulder five minutes before the end of training on Saturday. But intense treatment from the club's medical staff, including a pain-killing injection, allowed Parker to take to the field at Upton Park. And their intervention paid off as the 30-year-old opened the scoring with a brilliant goal to set West Ham on their way to a crucial victory. Grant said: "Scott is a special guy. The spirit he showed was great. "Three hours before the game, we thought there was no way he would play. "It was a bad, bad injury. He couldn't walk or move his arms. "The medical department were sure he couldn't play, but they did a good job and gave him 24 hours of treatment. "He needed more than an injection, but the medical department did brilliantly with him. "He's the type of player I like: he always gives 100%, is always positive. "I like some of the things from old-fashioned play. That's what they did in the olden days. They gave everything." Parker played down his injury and his reaction to it, saying: "It was just a little bit of a knock. Anybody else would've done exactly the same." Indeed, the midfielder was less concerned about his own health and more about that of his sick father, as his goal celebration demonstrated. "Celebration was obviously partly to do with that but it was a good victory," he said. West Ham co-owner David Gold is also unwell and is in hospital being treated for cholangitis and septicaemia. "Hopefully, that result's made it a little bit better for him," said Parker. Grant added: "I want to wish him all the best and to get well. He's a good guy, and I'm sure he enjoyed the game. "The game was good, we played well, scored three and could have scored more. I'm happy. "This result shows the players what quality we have. We're not a team that should be down the bottom. Circumstances cause us to be there, but look at our football." The result lifted the Hammers level on points with fourth-bottom Wolves. Grant added: "We are coming now to the last 10 games of the season. "I don't remember a situation where the team who are bottom could still end up 10th. It's so tight." Liverpool's defeat all but ended their faint hopes of a late run on the Champions League places. Reflecting on what was the Reds' first major setback since his appointment inspired a mini-revival, manager Kenny Dalglish said: "We never passed it as well as we can or took the opportunities that came our way." Liverpool were 2-0 down before they really got going, pulling a goal back through Glen Johnson before conceding a late third. Dalglish added: "The last 20 or 25 minutes, we started to play a wee bit like we can. We got the goal near the end and we thought we might steal a point. "There were a couple of shouts for a penalty, things that are outside our control that you can't manage, but we'll try to correct the mistakes we made." Liverpool also lost right-back Martin Kelly to a hamstring injury, while Raul Meireles left the field with a knee problem. "Martin's more serious," said Dalglish, who refused to completely rule Kelly out of Sunday's game with Manchester United. "Raul we don't know. But I wouldn't take it as a given that Martin's out yet." Meanwhile, Dalglish rubbished reports he had been offered a two-year contract. "Obviously not," said the Scot, whose deal is until the end of the season. "I thought the wife was putting me under contract. We've said often enough that, if there's any news to be told, we'll tell you."
