Fulham midfielder Dickson Etuhu admits former manager Roy Hodgson will be sorely missed.
Hodgson left the Cottagers to take charge of Liverpool last week, having been at the club since December 2007.
The 62-year-old coach led Fulham away from relegation to the Championship in his first season in charge and last term took the West Londoners to the Europa League final.
Etuhu, who has been away on international duty at the World Cup with Nigeria, says Hodgson had to make the move to Anfield, but admits it is a blow to lose him.
“It’s strange; it actually has still not hit me yet because obviously I’ve been away,” the 28-year-old said.
“Going to the training ground and not seeing the manager around, it will be a shock for me.
“At the end of the day I just think he’s done really for us this last season and for him not to go to Liverpool…he had to take the opportunity and better himself and I wish him all the best of luck because he’s been a great manager, he’s been good to me and the rest of the team.
“We’re going to miss him. Hopefully when the new manager comes in we can pick up from where he left off.
“He knows what he wants and he drills it into you every day so you understand what your job is.
“He doesn’t complicate it and makes it easy to play as an individual. He made me a better player and I’m sure a lot of the players at Fulham would say that.
“A few of the players at the club have got one year left on their contracts – Simon Davies, Bobby Zamora has got a couple of years left and he’s got clubs sniffing all over him.
“I hope we get to keep everyone together because we’ve got a good bunch of lads, we’ve got a good team and we can do better and better and improve.”
A number of managers have been linked with the vacant post at Craven Cottage, including Mark Hughes, Lee Clark, Alan Curbishley and former England boss Sven Goran Eriksson.
Etuhu says he has heard good things about Swedish tactician Eriksson, but is not in a position to declare who he wants in charge.
He added: “I’ve heard some good things about him because my brother (Kelvin) had him at Man City but it would be hard for anyone to take over from Roy Hodgson. He’s been a great manager for us and I look forward to working with whoever they bring in.
“I can’t really point at any of them, I just want us to get a manager in, get the season started and move on.
“If we finish in the top 10 that will be good for us. We don’t spend massive and we keep the same team.”
