Chris Coleman says his most difficult job on taking over as Fulham boss was getting rid of the negative mood around the club.
The popular former club captain turned youngest top flight manager proved his coaching credentials by dragging the Whites out of relegation trouble following the sacking of Jean Tigana. In the build up to tomorrow’s clash with Manchester City, managed by former Fulham boss Kevin Keegan, Coleman told his pre-match press conference:
“Last season was the worst atmosphere I’ve known at the club. There was all the talk of Jean staying or not staying and also the talk about going back to the Cottage. Although we tried, it was impossible to keep that away from the players in the dressing room. There was a lot of uncertainty and stuff going on. Certain people were hiding behind it and we got bogged down in it.
So at the start of this season, there was a lot of negativity around the club – although I never thought there’d be a landslide of players leaving and losing games. But we wiped the slate clean and tried to make that negativity work for us. The pressure’s off us because we’re expected to go down. We were written off but had a decent start and if we go about our business like we have done, we’ll be okay.”
