Chris Coleman admits that he is finding management all-consuming and worries that the Fulham job is taking over his life – but he is loving it.
The Welshman is enjoying confounding the critics who suggested he would be the first Premier League boss out of a job as Fulham made a swift return to Division One – with the Cottagers up to fourth after a routine win over Leicester City at Loftus Road. Coleman, a popular figure amongst the fanbase after dropping two divisions to accelerate Fulham’s climb through the pyramid, is quietly trying to keep everyone’s feet on the ground.
“I can’t sleep, I can’t nod off, I can’t go out for a beer with the lads like I used to, I think about the job all the time, I’m losing my hair and losing all my mates. Yet I wouldn’t swap it for anything. Being a professional footballer is the best job in the world and the next best is being a manager. Who would have thought, six months ago, that I would even be doing this job? I can’t pretend I’m a headmaster because the boys knew what I was like as a player.
But it’s nonsense to talk about us being in a Champions League spot after only seven games – let’s just try and win a few football matches, keep our feet on the floor and make sure we aren’t in trouble next March. Being in the top four after only seven games means nothing – if we go on a bad run, we could just as easily find ourselves in the bottom three.”
