Rene Meulentseen replaces Martin Jol as Fulham’s Manager
Fulham FC have confirmed former Manchester United assistant manager Rene Meulentseen will take charge at Craven Cottage, after Martin Jol was sacked by the club’s American owner, Shahid Khan on Sunday.
The sack hardly came as a surprise to Jol himself who was asked after Saturday’s woeful 3-0 loss to West Ham if he feels he was going to be leading the side against Tottenham in the midweek, a question which he replied “it is not in my hands.”
Jol’s imminent sack was evident after a run of six straight defeat was capped with an uneventful outing at Upton Park in his last match in charge, where they failed to have a single shot on target.
As expected, Khan announced Meulentseen, who was earlier brought in to assist the ousted coach, although there was no mention of if he were to remain there permanently.
“Rene Meulensteen was brought to Fulham to assist Martin and today was offered the challenge and opportunity to step in for Martin,” said owner Shahid Khan. “I thank Rene for accepting and now we move forward. I have great confidence in Rene and high expectations for our squad to respond.”
The London club presently sits three points adrift the third relegation zone and Meulentseen, who aside from a short stint at Russian club Anzhi Makhachkala, has not managed a club before, will be charged with the responsibility of stearing the club to safety- starting with the Spurs match.
Meulensteen said: “I appreciate the faith Mr Khan has put in me and will do my very best to honour his trust. We aim to get Fulham back on track, starting [against Tottenham on] Wednesday night.”
