Fulham boss Slavisa Jokanovic has been linked with West Ham.
Fulham manager Slavisa Jokanovic
Fulham boss Slavisa Jokanovic has told Get West London that he is committed to the club amid rumours of a move to West Ham United.
Jokanovic, 48, became Fulham manager in December 2015 following a brief spell in Israel with Maccabi Tel Aviv, and kept the club in the Championship after flirting with relegation.
Fulham splashed the cash over the summer in order to land the likes of David Button, Ragnar Sigurdsson, Stefan Johansen and Floyd Ayite, and the Cottagers are now vying for a play-off place.
Jokanovic deserves much of the praise for Fulham’s turnaround, and he’ll now be looking to win a second promotion to the Premier League, having guided Watford to the top flight in 2015.
However, the Serbian’s exploits at Craven Cottage are unsurprisingly attracting interest, with Sky Sports claiming on Tuesday that Jokanovic has emerged as West Ham’s top choice to replace Slaven Bilic this summer.
Bilic may have led West Ham to a seventh place finish last season, but this term has been much more of a struggle, with Saturday’s 1-0 victory over Swansea ending a run of five defeats in a row and seven without a win.
Bilic’s will eases the pressure on him, but with Jokanovic linked, he has been asked for his response to the rumours – and has told Get West London that he is committed to Fulham having only signed a new contract in February.
Jokanovic added that West Ham have problem to resolve right now, before praising manager Bilic as a ‘fantastic man and a fantastic coach’, whilst admitting that he does want to be a Premier League manager, but with Fulham.
West Ham United manager Slaven Bilic
“This is only rumours and we are now in a crucial moment of the competition and I don’t have time for thinking about different teams,” said Jokanovic. “I’m only thinking about my team and I am fully concentrated and motivated for the push with my players for fighting with the targets. For all the Championship coaches this can be a natural step for another things. I want to talk about my players, challenges in front of us.”
“I have my problems and West Ham have problems to resolve in this moment, in front of them is a fantastic man and a fantastic coach and I don’t have any info they are keen for changing the manager and this info that is passed around about me in this moment is not important, it’s important what is in my head about the job that is front of us. I am not thinking about far future I am thinking about the immediate future and what is in front of us which is the Norwich game.”
“I am absolutely committed, always, I will repeat that I have a year and a half on my contract with Fulham – I am happy with my club and I will push hard to be a Premier League coach with Fulham in the future either in a few months or a little bit longer,” he added.
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