Australia assistant manager Rene Meulensteen has admitted he has no idea how he ended up as Fulham manager and wants the whole affair to be forgotten about.
The Dutch coach has been speaking to NOS, relayed by Soccer News, about Arne Slot’s imminent arrival at Liverpool, with the Reds pushing to secure him as Jurgen Klopp’s replacement.
Slot will join a growing list of bosses from the Netherlands to have managed in the Premier League, with them enjoying varied success to date.
Managers from the Netherlands have had a varied time in England’s top flight over the years, with the likes of Guus Hiddink, Louis van Gaal and even Erik ten Haag enjoying some success but names such as Dick Advocaat, Frank de Boer and Ronald Koeman certainly on the other end of the scale.
He originally joined the club as assistant manager in November 2013 but found himself in the manager’s office a month later.
He only lasted 17 games in the role, winning four, drawing three and losing ten of his games before eventually being sacked and replaced by Felix Magath.
Neither he nor Fulham look back on the spell fondly and he admits he’s still not sure how he ended up in charge.
“The Premier League is a completely different animal, the most difficult competition there is,” he said.
“It is not only Dutch trainers who are having a hard time in England. To put everything into perspective: do you know how many English coaches have become Premier League champions since 1992? Zero!
“Everyone comes in at a certain time, in a different way. Look at me. I was Jol’s assistant at Fulham. Unbeknownst to me, he was fired, and I was put in his position. How that happened made no sense. You can safely leave me out of that list.”
