Fulham winger Ashkan Dejagah has insisted that Felix Magath is the right man to steer Fulham to safety after achieving a similar great escape with Wolfsburg.
The Cottagers have turned to Magath to try and keep them in the Premier League after a dismal campaign under Martin Jol and then Rene Meulensteen.
A 1-1 draw with West Bromwich Albion in his first game in charge last weekend left Fulham bottom of the table and four points adrift of safety ahead of Saturday’s clash with west London rivals Chelsea.
However, Dejagah says there is still a lot of confidence in the camp that Fulham can avoid relegation, and has given his backing to new boss Magath.
Midfielder Dejagah was part of Magath’s Wolfsburg side that beat the drop in 2011 by winning three of their final four Bundesliga games of the season.
“I know him well,” the 27-year-old told the Fulham & Hammersmith Chronicle. “He’s a manager with a lot of experience and has worked with a lot of big teams in Germany. He’s the right man for the job and hopefully we can come out of this situation.
“I won the title with him and we also had the same situation as we are in now at the bottom of the table. We stayed up on the last game, so anything can happen in football.”
There has been a lot of scrutiny on Magath’s strict managerial style and intense training sessions since he took charge at Fulham, but Dejagah insists his methods are effective.
“Every manager has a different style. His is to work hard and be disciplined,” explained Dejagah.
“I think that is good for the team and hopefully we can stay up. Everyone has taken it on board in the last week and wants to fight for this club.”
Dejagah is expecting a tough game at home to league leaders Chelsea this weekend, but says there are positives to take from their recent performances against other big teams.
“It’s a big game and a derby, so we know how important it is,” he said. “Chelsea are playing well and I think they are the best team in the league at the moment.
“We have played well against big teams recently, so we can take confidence from that.”
