Fulham boss Lawrie Sanchez has revealed the demand for instant success has shaped his transfer policy of not looking abroad for new players.
Sanchez has refused to cast his net overseas during a £17.5million spending spree that has brought six new arrivals to Craven Cottage so far this summer – with more to follow.
Aaron Hughes, Steven Davis, David Healy, Diomansy Kamara, Chris Baird and Paul Konchesky have the experience of English football that Sanchez considers essential if Fulham are to make an impact next season.
The former Northern Ireland coach believes foreign imports take too long to acclimatise to the Premiership, forcing him to look closer to home.
“English football is a shock to the system for a lot of players that come to the Premiership,” he said.
“What you don`t want is someone who has a problem understanding the manager, takes time to settle in a new country and needs until Christmas time to get used to the Premiership.
“We need to be up and running from day one because we face Arsenal first up. Time is something we don`t have.
“So we decided that we would sign players that we know, who have played in English football and who know what is expected of them.
“Maybe later in my reign when things are more settled we can go for foreign players and take a look at them at the training ground.
“But the four guys from Northern Ireland that I have brought in know what is expected.
“It`s the same for Diomansy who has played for West Brom and Portsmouth and Paul Konchesky, who is an England international.”
The 47-year-old has set his sights on steering the club into Europe for only the second time in its history – whether via the Premiership or through cup success.
He said:”People expect Fulham to be at the lower end of the Premiership, beating Liverpool one day and then losing to a struggling team the next.
“My job is to make Fulham more competitive. I want us to be written about every week of the year, not just the week when we beat Chelsea.
“My job is to beat the ninth place we had in 2004 – our best Premiership finish. I`d also like in my time here to get Fulham into Europe.
“European football is the target I`ll be setting the players in some way or another. That can be achieved through the cups, not just the league.
“There are many routes into Europe. Getting near a European place would represent success at this club.”
