Exclusive – Murphy fears for Fulham after Meulensteen appointment
Danny Murphy says Fulham have taken a huge gamble by putting Rene Meulensteen in charge.
The former Manchester United coach has been handed the managerial reins at Craven Cottage after Martin Jol was axed on Sunday.
Murphy was not surprised by Jol’s departure, but admits he is unsure if Meulensteen is the right man to take control of his former club.
Speaking on the Colin Murray show, he said: “The way they are playing at the moment, they are looking in real trouble. I just hope he has the capability because it doesn’t matter how good a coach you are, when you have to manage players it is a different ball game.
“There are plenty of candidates out there with more experience than him, so I’m not sure. He will have learnt a lot from Sir Alex Ferguson, how can you not? But you are talking about dealing with different players.
“You’re not talking about training with some of the best players in Europe day in, day out. You’re talking about trying to motivate players that aren’t playing so well. It’s a different job.”
Jol was shown the door after a run of five straight defeats, which has seen the Cottagers plummet to 18th in the Premier League.
And Murphy believes the Dutchman was let down by certain members of his squad.
“Last year you saw signs that it wasn’t quite right, and losing games just becomes a habit,” said Murphy.
“The squad has not got the right balance. There’s talk obviously of [Dimitar] Berbatov and the lack of commitment and effort he has shown and I think that has transferred sometimes to the other players.
“I know from certain friends I have got there that they have become frustrated at the fact that certain players stay in the team no matter what.
“It’s not just Dimitar, but there is maybe too many players in that side who don’t put a shift in. You can only have one, maybe two.
“Last year it was Berbatov producing the goals that kept them up and the rest of the team worked for him, whereas this season I think there have been three of four who haven’t contributed and pulled their weight.”