Sanchez bids to save Fulham

Updated 15.10 Fri Apr 13 2007

Keywords: Premiership, Fulham, Lawrie Sanchez, football, sport, Northern Ireland Euro 2008

Caretaker boss Lawrie Sanchez is adamant that he can help relegation-threatened Fulham preserve their Premiership status.

Sanchez has five games in which to keep the Cottagers among English football's elite in the wake of the dismissal of Chris Coleman.

"For the next five games I will be focused on Fulham, thereafter I will focus on internationals" - Lawrie Sanchez

And he is confident that he will be able to combine his club duties with those of being Northern Ireland boss, not just now but also in the long term.

Sanchez said: "I think it is possible to do both, I've read one or two people who have said it is impossible. I'm an international manager, I know that I can do the international job and a top job at the same time.

"Most of the managers in the Premiership and Championship go to Dubai in the international weeks, the only difference is that you'd go and take a team for those two weeks."

Fulham, who are on a seven-match winless run, find themselves just four points above the Premiership's dreaded bottom three.

And Sanchez added: "For the next five games I will be focused on Fulham, thereafter I will focus on internationals."