Cottagers’ ‘recipe will take time’
FULHAM’S new French signing Maxime Le Marchand came over like compatriot chef Michel Roux Jr when asking fans to keep their nerve.
He used an old French saying, “La mayonnaise prend” to explain how he sees the future. Roughly translated, it means: “Making a good mayonnaise takes time”.
Le Marchand, 28, a former Nice captain who had controversial Mario Balotelli in his side, said: “It has been a baptism of fire and now we know what is needed to compete. We are all new and need to gel.
“We saw what Harry Kane and others like him can do last week. You have to keep an eye on those types of players or suffer. We need to be patient.”
Le Marchand was part of the £36million deal that brought team-mate Jean Michael Seri to Fulham.
“I arrived with Seri, we are good pals,” he said.
“We share the same views on football. We both arrived at Nice together, by coincidence, just like we did here.
“Barcelona wanted him, but I’m not surprised that he has come here. He is ambitious and wanted to come to a big league.
“He also wanted to sign for a club where he knew he would be playing regularly and the philosophy of playing fits with how he wants to play.”
Le Marchand added: “Zinedine Zidane is my biggest hero as a player, but I have always admired Balotelli. He had an image of being crazy, but on the pitch he’s very professional and always wants to win.”
The Cottagers’ coach Slavisa Jokanovic knows defeat against Burnley today will put his new contract talks on hold.
He admitted: “It will be tough – and a win for us would be a big relief.
“I can’t say why Sean Dyche hasn’t been headhunted by other clubs, but he is a good manager.”