Jean Tigana isn’t daunted by the prospect of taking newly-promoted Fulham to Old Trafford on the opening weekend of the Premiership season – because he’s beaten Manchester United before.
The French legend oversaw Monaco’s semi-final Champions’ League triumph in 1997 but told his pre-match press conference that the result of Fulham’s first top-flight fixture in 33 years won’t define their season.
“In many ways, to lose away to Manchester United would be a normal result. Arsenal did it last year, yet they finished second in the League. I don’t feel other people’s pressure on me. My priority is what happens on the pitch. I’ve played and coached only at the top level for 26 years. I know what pressure is. It’s not a problem. I’ll sleep well on Saturday night. Don’t worry about me.
Manchester United are the best team in England, so Sunday is a big step for us. It’s good to play the best team away in the first game because we need to learn quickly. My players will know after this game exactly what steps they have to take. My priority is to stay in the Premiership because I have a lot of young players. I don’t know yet if they are capable of playing at this level. It’s a big discovery for me and them. But I don’t like thinking only of finishing fourth from bottom. I would rather be aiming for the top 10.
Tigana was coy about what sort of tactical approach he might use to stifle the creativity at Sir Alex Ferguon’s disposal.
“Collins on Beckham? It’s possible. We need to beat Manchester United on Sunday but I don’t have the same team as I had at Monaco. There I had a very strong team. Yes, young players like David Trezeguet and Thierry Henry, but they were used to playing at the top level. It was different. It wasn’t a surprise for me in Manchester with Monaco because after the first leg I told the players we were 50-50 to win.
Sunday will be different. When I came to Fulham I changed my vision absolutely. We are progressing together. ‘We are playing against the best team in England and, for me, in Europe. To beat them we need to keep the ball in their half.
I don’t want my team to stay back [behind the ball]. My philosophy is to play. It’s not possible to change that way now. The season is a long road.”
