Chris Coleman knows his Fulham side will be up against it at Tottenham this weekend – with the north London club having been energised by the arrival of Dutch manager Martin Jol.
Coleman was full of praise for his opposite number in the White Hart Lane dugout ahead of the derby during his pre-match press conference.
“Martin Jol has only lost six times since he’s been in charge, he’s done a good job and he’s got a team with a lot of good, young players. It won’t be easy, they score a lot of goals but they also concede a lot – very similar to us. But we’ll be going there to get the win. That’s what we’ve worked on all week. We’re not going to sit back and there’s no reason for us to go there and be afraid of anything. I think it will be an entertaining game.
I like what’s Martin’s done, the players he’s brought in are a good age and he’s not just looking at this season. He’s obviously done his homework and I think he’s done it the right way.”
Coleman admitted he is likely to be cautious over the use of Steed Malbranque, who completed a day’s training this week after playing 65 minutes for the reserves as he recovers from injury.
“He trained with us today and played for the reserves in midweek. He’s a little bit rusty but that’s normal. I’m very conscious of bringing him back too early and him getting re-injured. We’ve done that his season with a few players, we’ve gambled and paid the price so I’m not going to do that with Steed. As much as I’d love to have him available, I’d like to see him train with us every day next week so he can be ready for the next weekend.”
