Jol calm despite winless start

Jol calm despite winless start

Published Sep. 30, 2011 3:16 p.m. ET

Fulham are hovering just above the relegation zone after failing to win any of their opening six league games. Jol's men are currently the only top-flight side yet to win this term, but they have picked up four points thanks to draws against West Brom, Chelsea, Manchester City and Blackburn. The Dutchman, who took over from Mark Hughes this summer, had seen his side go without a win in eight matches in all competitions until last night's 2-0 win against Odense BK in Denmark. The victory has left the Cottagers boss in an upbeat mood ahead of Sunday's west London derby against QPR and he is convinced that his team will start winning league games soon. An upbeat Jol said: "Today is great. We have sunny weather, it's a nice atmosphere in Fulham, the people are relaxed and we had a nice win yesterday. Life is great. I'm totally enjoying it. "I don't think there is a big concern because we have got a lot of draws and we should have won two or three games. "It's not a disaster. We have had five draws on the trot and we could have win three easily." One glance at the table reveals the reason behind Fulham's poor start to the season - a lack of goals. Jol's men have scored a measly four times in the league this term, with the Dutchman's strikers struggling to find their touch. Andrew Johnson is the only marksman that has scored on a regular basis, but each of his six goals have come in the Europa League. Johnson scored both goals in last night's win, and Jol now hopes others can repeat the former Crystal Palace striker's efforts in the league. "Last week at West Brom in the first half we had 60% possession away from home and we created four or five chances but we couldn't put them away," Jol continued. "That's probably the biggest worry. "The only thing is that you have to score goals. "That didn't happen so there is no real place for concern but we need the players to put the ball away. "Andy Johnson solved that yesterday so hopefully other players will do the same in the future." Johnson's brace has given Jol a major selection headache for Sunday's game at Craven Cottage as Bobby Zamora and Moussa Dembele are available again after missing the trip to Denmark through illness. Aiming to score goals for the opposition on Sunday will be a man who Jol knows well - Adel Taarabt. Taarabt was coming through the ranks at Tottenham while Jol was manager at White Hart Lane. The forward has excelled since he left the north London club and is now one of the stars of Neil Warnock's team, who have made a good start to their first season back in the top flight following a 15-year absence. Warnock has often complained that Taarabt is a difficult player to manage, but Jol has nothing but praise for the Moroccan youngster. "Taarabt was very easy to manage. He is a very good boy," Jol said. "It was easier then because he was very young, but even then they called him 'the wizard'. "He is capable of doing anything in the game and if you are looking for a number 10 then he is a number 10. "He scored 19 goals last year and got 18 or 19 assists so he is top quality player and everyone is aware of that - even abroad."

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