Thursday, 5th December, 2013
New Fulham manager Rene Meulensteen admitted that it was extremely difficult for him to take his side’s 2-1 loss against Tottenham Hotspur last night in his first game as the Cottagers boss.
The 49-year-old, who joined Fulham as a head coach in November, took over the managerial reigns of the Craven Cottage outfit after they sacked Martin Jol earlier in the month.
However, Meulensteen's start as Fulham manager was not ideal as he saw his side succumb to a 2-1 defeat against Spurs despite taking a lead through Ashkan Dejagah.
But the Dutchman was pleased with the Cottagers’ performance and also felt that Tottenham’s first goal had a hint of offside.
relatedNewsStory
Meulensteen also admitted that goalkeeper Hugo Lloris kept Spurs in the game by making two great saves after his side trailed 2-1 following two superb strikes from Vlad Chiriches and Lewis Holtby.
“It is very, very, very hard to take, Fulham is going through a tough time, and everybody knows that”, the manager explained to his club’s official site.
“The most important thing that I wanted from the players was an inspired performance and, from a tactic point of view, a disciplined performance.
“I think we got that and it got us to a point where we were on top, winning 1-0, and then that goal from Tottenham fell out of the sky really.
“It was a good strike but it smelled a little bit of offside looking back at [Jermain] Defoe’s position, so that’s hard to take.
“I think the players responded well after that but then they had another great strike from [Lewis] Holtby into the top corner.
“But even after that we kept going and we kept on threatening the goal; I thought Lloris pulled off a couple of worldy saves but, indeed, it’s a defeat that’s very hard to take.”
Fulham, who are presently in 18th place in the league standings with just 10 points from 14 fixtures, will next take on Aston Villa on Sunday.
Top tips from tipsters who know the game and betting match previews. Make sure you visit Inside Bet!
