Rene Meulensteen has told of his shock after being sacked as Fulham boss after just two months in the Craven Cottage hotseat.
The former Manchester United coach was replaced by Felix Magath and revealed that chief executive Alistair Mackintosh was the one who revealed the news hot on the heels of a desperately unlucky 3-2 home defeat by Liverpool.
The Dutchman told BBC Radio 5 Live: “I’m very, very surprised, (it’s) very, very frustrating because you’re trying to do something about it, but you haven’t been given time to make it work. I haven’t had a lot of time. I think people were starting to see what I was trying to put in place, I think that the two performances against Manchester United and Liverpool showed that.
“We were going back to playing some good football. I’m sure we would have turned it around. Hey, ho, that’s what happens in football. It’s not always fair. It is the story of my life with these management jobs.”
Meulensteen, who replaced compatriot Martin Jol in the Fulham hot seat in December, insisted he had a strong rapport with Khan, but was aware of the owner’s fear of Premier League relegation.
“I’ve had a really good relationship with him and good communication with him,” he continued. “They are very, very scared of being relegated and that is why they have made the decision. I knew that the owners were freaking about a bit because Fulham could be relegated, but they’ve already had that attitude 10 games back.
“Fulham have been in the Premier League a long time and I think that it is going down to the wire. They have hit the panic button on emotions of fear, but that’s what happens in football. It was a situation where I had to clear up the mess of someone else before I could building something of my own.”
Meulensteen was not aware of what the future held for members of his backroom staff such as assistant Ray Wilkins, but expressed his disappointment at not having the chance to work with players he brought to the club in the January transfer window, including club-record signing Konstantinos Mitroglou.
“I feel really, really sorry for those guys,” he added. “I still hope that they’ve got a future at Fulham.”
