The west London side began their European tilt on June 30 and on Thursday night secured progression from the play-offs, beating Dnipro 3-1 on aggregate despite a 1-0 defeat in Ukraine. Having also seen off NSI Runavik, Crusaders and RNK Split, Fulham have now been rewarded with a group that contains FC Twente, Odense and Wisla Krakow. While Jol expects some tough Group K encounters, the Dutchman believes his side can progress to the knockout stages. "It is obviously a tough group," he said minutes after the draw. "Wisla are champions in Poland, I know the manager there, he is Dutch (Robert Maaskant). "Twente were obviously runners-up in Holland and went out against Benfica [in the Champions League knockout round]. "Odense was runner-up in Denmark and went out against Villarreal. "But we are from England. We are a Premier League side so we have the quality to make it difficult for all these teams. "They will look at it the same way we do. I think we have a good chance to get to the next stage." Fulham have been handed the unenviable task of overcoming three sides that were all competing in the Champions League until losses this week. Wisla Krakow and Odense were knocked out of the play-offs by APOEL Nicosia and Villarreal respectively on Tuesday, before Twente succumbed to Benfica the following night. Only 10 sides from the Champions League have entered the Europa League at this stage and Jol pinpointed Twente as the strongest side he will face. "It is a tough group," he said. "We were in pot three so we were probably not the strongest in there for them. "But now they will recognise us as a good team. I feel these teams will tell you this is a tough group because we are in it. "For us, Twente are a good, good Dutch team and were champions in 2010. "Last year Ajax were champions in the last game against them so, as I said, it is a difficult group. "They have got a lot of individual quality: [Nikolay] Mihaylov, the goalkeeper, and Douglas is one of the best in Europe I feel." With group games not starting until September 15, Fulham can focus their immediate efforts on changing their Premier League fortunes. The Cottagers were held to a 0-0 draw against Aston Villa in the opening games of the season, before losing 2-0 at Wolves last weekend. Jol's side now face an arduous-looking trip to Newcastle this weekend and he is expecting another tough match. "If you play away against Newcastle, it is always a difficult game," he said. "Over the last season you could say they kept all their best players and now they've sold their striker (Andy Carroll), for example. "I don't know what will happen with [Joey] Barton but they are still capable. If you look at their midfield and up front they are still capable of good performances. "Of course if you lose your best striker it is a problem but they got some players in as well because they acted quick in the summer. "They are probably not 100% yet and I don't think any manager would say they are at 100% yet. "I think most managers would say they want one or two players in, and we will say it too."
