Ray Lewington will continue in charge of Fulham for their Boxing Day fixture against Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane but the club are keen to have a permanent replacement for Lawrie Sanchez, who was dismissed last week, in place before the transfer window opens in eight days. The front-runners for the job are Martin Jol, John Collins and Graeme Souness.

Jol, the former Spurs manager, was given glowing references by two of his former players. Michael Brown, the Wigan Athletic and former Spurs and Fulham player, said of Jol: “He is a fantastic football manager and it would be a great coup for Fulham if they could get Martin.”

Danny Murphy joined Fulham from Tottenham. “I left on good terms with Martin,” he said. “He took me to Tottenham. I didn’t play as much as I wanted because of the quality he had to choose from.”