Jokanovic ‘was not given time’
...but at least I can now have a nice Christmas with my family
SLAVISA JOKANOVIC was the first Premier League manager to lose his job this season – and wants to be the first to get back on the merrygo-round.
Jokanovic, 50, was sacked by Fulham last month yet already looks refreshed, recharged and is looking forward to his first Christmas with his family in years.
“I am open, I am looking around and I am one of the first coaches to lose my job, but I can be one of the first to get a new job,” said Jokanovic in his first interview since leaving Craven Cottage.
“It will be a strange situation for me because I can enjoy Christmas with my family, spend some time with my children and it will be a bit different to so many past Christmases.
“I’ve had four years with no rest. I’m not tired but I also try to find something that is interesting and a plan to be successful. I live a good life, it’s not about money, I want to find a way for success.
“I am rested, I am ready and hope to find something interesting for myself. I want to carry on working, it’s my profession and I hope I will find work for the next 20 years. Where? This world is so big that I can’t give you answers.”
Jokanovic has regrets from his three years at Fulham but very little bitterness. His biggest disappointment is that he only got two months to work in the Premier League.
Fulham spent more than £100million last summer and brought in 12 new players for their return to the top flight – and yet they still have not gelled under new manager Claudio Ranieri, below.
But transfers and Fulham is a sticking point for Jokanovic.
He did not have the final say on transfers – not even that of his fellow Serb Aleksandar
Mitrovic – with the
London club’s complicated transfer set-up identifying and signing players.
While Fulham needed better defenders or even a holding midfielder, they broke their transfer record to spend £30m on mercurial midfielder Jean Michael Seri.
“I could complain about many things in my three years at Fulham but not in my last three months and maybe that was my biggest mistake,” said Jokanovic.
“If you ask me if I participated in transfers, then my participation was minimal in this process. Different managers complain about this situation, it’s not just at Fulham, Jose Mourinho said something similar and modern football is going in a different direction.
“In the end, it’s about the final say. People say, ‘You signed Mitrovic in June’. No, it’s not true. Mitrovic signed himself because he scored the goals, the supporters wanted him and he signed himself at a different price. “But I understand modern football, how the club are working. I can agree or disagree on movement from the club’s side, but many clubs do it like that. Some teams give you the players and say, ‘Come on, make the team’. “But it’s also part of modern football that I only had 12 games, no proper pre-season, two international breaks without 10 important players. In total, I worked just two months in the Premier League, which is not enough time.
“It’s difficult to work with so many different players. They need to feel each other, build a spirit and they need to trust each other.
“You are then looking for the best XI, that’s why you have to change the team and it’s difficult to find the best team. I understand that everything depends on the result – and if the results are not good enough then many clubs would take this decision to change the manager. It’s not about being disappointed, it’s about being realistic.”
Jokanovic led Fulham back into the Premier League and also got Watford promoted before being replaced, so it would be understandable if he harboured some ill will.
Yet he is philosophical and clearly has enough good memories of Craven Cottage to believe they can stay up under Ranieri if they buy well in January.
Jokanovic said: “It was not in my hands but I think they can do it. They can find a solution in January, they can turn this situation around, definitely they can. Everything is possible.
“But you need to find unity, you need to trust and many things depend on the mental situation of the group because if they believe they can do it, then they can do it.
“You need to find an improvement and if they get support in the January transfer window then I hope they will find a great solution because the team definitely need some kind of help.
“I must accept the decision. I’m outside now, but I still follow the club and I wish them and the supporters all of the best. The supporters were fantastic.”