Fulham owner Shahid Khan revealed Kit Symons beat a host of candidates to the full-time manager’s job – including those already employed at other clubs.
Khan refused to be drawn on whether Hull boss Steve Bruce had thrown his name into the hat. But reckoned the five-man committee tasked with producing the club’s fourth boss in under a year whittled down an extensive list to a ‘couple of candidates’ and Symons.
In the end, results were as big a factor as anything for the former academy coach, and Symons faces his first game in permanent charge against ex-Manchester City team-mate Uwe Rosler’s Wigan on Saturday.
The new manager said: “Full time manager: it’s got a great ring to it, and it’s something I’ve dreamed about for a long time. I’ll be happy to plant trees I’ll never see grow, but results is our immediate aim. We started our season seven weeks late, if you like, so it’s a big ask but our first aim is promotion.”
Khan formally announced the appointment yesterday, but his five-man panel was pretty much redundant after the Whites’ magnificent run under Symons’ temporary stewardship.
The chairman said: “A lot of people in positions already applied for the job and the search committee interviewed other candidates and came up with a couple of candidates. But we all felt very strongly about Kit, and he is the only one I personally spoke to.”
