The Guardian are also reporting that Fulham are making a big play for Martin Jol.

Fulham appear to be his more likely destination by virtue of Fulham keeping in close contact with the former Tottenham manager after he turned down the chance to replace Roy Hodgson last summer, which rather goes against the theory that Mohamed Al-Fayed holds grudges against those who have crossed him in the past. The Guardian report also stresses that Fulham are planning to offer Jol ‘a huge salary’ in attempt to prevent him from being tempted by the vacancy at Aston Villa.

Perhaps the closing lines of this piece are most intriguing however, as they detail how Al-Fayed has responded to the events of the last few days:

Fulham’s anger at what they perceive to have been a betrayal by Hughes has been best reflected by Fayed. He sent a message to each one of his first-team players to stress that the success of this past season had been a team effort, with the subtext being that Hughes’s loss was of no concern.

Fayed, though, is looking forward and he has been inundated with applications for the vacant post. Avram Grant and Chris Hughton have been among the managers to show an interest. Martin O’Neill and McClaren have also been touted.