Fulham - Hodgson Pens New Deal!

2009 appears to be ending on a high!

Fulham have proved that their high league position of last season was not a fluke, we`re still in the Europa League and, best of all, any speculation about the gaffer leaving has been quashed with the news that Roy Hodgson has signed a new contract.

Roy has signed a rolling one-year deal and the news will come as welcome relief to all those who feared he could be tempted to a job elsewhere.

But, in signing the deal, in something akin to an acceptance speech, Roy has spoken about the need for Fulham not to try and outreach our limit, commenting,

"I'm delighted to have committed my future to Fulham for the years to come.'

'Unfortunately, we must emphasise all the time that for us the important factor is to continue this run of years in the Premier League.'

'We must be realistic that some years are better than others, not necessarily because we play much worse or work less hard, but because circumstances can contrive against you."

'At the moment we're in the top half of the table. Last year we finished seventh and it would be really good if we can keep that up. But we must be careful not to constantly raise the barrier because to do that we would have to change the fundaments of how we work."

'Those fundaments are that we are trying to run the club in a sensible way and to use the chairman's money wisely. We're working with what we think are the right elements to keep this club growing at a level it should be at."

'If we can do better than mid-table finishes we'll be busting a gut to do that but I'd like to think we will not sell our soul or alter our principles.'

Before finally commenting on the new deal commenting.

'It's nice that the club want me to stay and I've always made it clear I'm very happy and enjoying my time here,' he said. 'The club and team are growing constantly. We're always running as fast as we can to make certain we don't ever go backwards.
'It's nice to know that I'll be here for the years to come and I'm looking forward to that work. People know me well enough to understand that I will be doing my best not to let anyone down.

'We will, of course, continue to work tirelessly to ensure that continued success is enjoyed on the pitch in the years to come.'

Best bit of news I`ve heard for ages, well this month at least!

Click here to join in the debate on the club forum.