Jol unruffled by Hughes-Zamora sideshow

It will be the first time the Cottagers come up against former striker Bobby Zamora and manager Mark Hughes since the pair departed the club.

Fulham haven’t lost to their neighbours since 1983 and the reverse fixture earlier in the season saw Jol’s side run out 6-0 victors.

The presence of the former favourites could prove a sideshow to the fixture, but the Dutchman is concentrating on picking up the victory and improving his side’s fortunes on the road.

"In the first game against QPR you felt the sort of feeling that this was new," said the Dutchman.

"It was a derby game and I feel if you look at the reactions after the game from our fans, it is a big game now and in the future.

"In the past I think it was a good derby game but it is now probably a bigger derby game than Chelsea.

"We have a lot of supporters going there, we focus on that and we will focus on our away form because that is not great. Hopefully we can change that.

"If you look at the form positively, you can say we didn't lose six out of the 12 away games but it is not the best away form.

"Hopefully we can change that and make it a structural thing on winning away."

Nick Moore

Nick Moore is a freelance journalist based on the Isle of Skye, Scotland. He wrote his first FourFourTwo feature in 2001 about Gerard Houllier's cup-treble-winning Liverpool side, and has continued to ink his witty words for the mag ever since. Nick has produced FFT's 'Ask A Silly Question' interview for 16 years, once getting Peter Crouch to confess that he dreams about being a dwarf.