Nearly Man no more as Joka eyes punchline
SLAVISA JOKANOVIC is sick of being branded the Premier League’s nearly man.
The Fulham boss (below) saw his top-flight dream dashed at Watford before the boys from Craven Cottage crashed at the play-off semi-final stage last season.
He has also previously been in the running for jobs at Crystal Palace and West Ham, only to be overlooked.
Now the Serb is 90 minutes away from reaching the big time and achieving a goal he set when he left England as a player in 2002.
The former Chelsea midfielder, who has already managed in six countries, said: “I loved the Premier League and always knew I wanted to come back as a coach in the future. That was a big ambition of mine.
“I had a taste of it at Chelsea as a player and I really enjoyed it and wanted more.
“When you leave a club, and when you eventually retire, you evaluate where your next step will be.
“Managing at the highest level in England was in my thoughts and I hope I can achieve those aims with this club.”
A pay dispute saw him axed by Watford almost three years to the day after leading them up.
Jokanovic said: “You can’t look back, there are no regrets. It’s in the past and Watford is forgotten about.
“Now it’s only about Fulham. They were in the Premier League for years and quite a settled club there.
“Things can obviously change and it’s taken the club time to adjust to a new level. The fans have as well.
“But you can feel the buzz and excitement around the place and we feel ready to take that next step on and off the pitch.”
Aston Villa now stand in their way at Wembley on Saturday but Jokanovic, 49, said: “We have a good group of players who are hungry to test themselves.
“Even after a slow start to this season, I had total faith in them. “It’s about sticking to your beliefs and not going away from them.
“A few negative results shouldn’t change those feelings. “That’s perhaps easy to do when things aren’t working out as you hoped.
“But I think we have benefited from staying strong and sticking together.”
For all talk of Ryan Sessegnon, Tom Cairney and Co exiting if Fulham lose the £170million showdown, Jokanovic‘s future will also be up in the air.
He has won an army of admirers for revitalising a club heading in one direction on the pitch amid growing terrace unrest off it.
Jokanovic added: “I’m only focused on the present, which is more important than the future.”