Martin Jol hailed the impact of Pavel Pogrebnyak after Fulham’s new Russian striker scored on his debut to beat Stoke.
The forward, a deadline day capture from Stuttgart, wasted no time in making his mark on the Premier League with a purposeful performance that delighted the Fulham boss. He took just sixteen minutes to score a first Fulham goal – providing the sort of immediate impact that Jol craved.
“We had somebody over with him during the process of getting his work permit,” the Fulham manager told the press afterwards. “He worked well and was fit. As you know, we don’t have a lot of number nines at this club and he was keen to start. That was a positive thing and it meant Clint could play in his position.”
“You always have to wait and see how somebody will do when they come from abroad. I want players when I approach them that want to play for us. He said, ‘Okay, I will play for the next four or five months and then we will wait and see’. It was a brave decision.”
