Gus Poyet could emerge as a contender to replace Martin Jol as Fulham manager after threatening to walk out on Brighton and Hove Albion, according to a report in the Daily Telegraph.
Poyet is considering his position following the club’s play-off defeat to Crystal Palace – the Uruguayan running out of patience with what he believes to be a lack of financial support from his board. He met his squad yesterday to tell them he could offer no guarantees whether he was going to extend his 3½-year spell in Sussex.
The 45-year-old has become increasingly frustrated at the Amex Stadium over the size of his budget and is convinced he has taken the Championship club as far as he can. And now Poyet, who rejected the chance to take charge of Reading in March, is expected to be considered by Fulham if they lose faith in Jol.
Fulham’s board are understood to be seriously concerned at their dismal end to the season, during which the team have suffered five defeats in a row and narrowly avoided relegation to the Championship.
Jol agreed a one-year contract extension earlier this year but results and performances have been alarming and Fulham will review his position after the game at Swansea on Sunday. Jol’s tenure has also been blighted with persistent rumours of fallouts with players and he has endured a fractious relationship with chief executive Alistair Mackintosh.
Poyet, the former Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur midfielder, has established a reputation as one of the rising stars in management and in his first full season he guided Brighton to the League One title. This season he managed a fourth-place finish but he has frequently bemoaned the lack of finance in comparison to other Championship clubs. Brighton are believed to have the fourth lowest budget in the division.
He signed a five-year contract in Sept 2011 and other clubs have been scared off by a hefty £2.5?million compensation bill.
Last season he turned down Wolverhampton Wanderers and also snubbed Reading two months ago, but appeared to suggest he was set for the exit after the defeat to bitter rivals Palace on Monday night.
He said: “I want to get better and as a manager I want to get better as well. I don’t go to places just to have a job, I go to places to put things right and to make the place better and I think I’ve done my job here.
“I don’t think anyone is going to disagree. Is there something more? Right now I don’t know, so I need to make sure that I know there is, because if not I am not going to stay forever. It doesn’t matter how many years contract you have signed.
