Jol key to Fulham loan move, says Urby Emanuelson

05/02/2013 7:45:00 AM

The Netherlands international has joined the London side from AC Milan until the end of the season, linking up with his former manager while at Eredivisie outfit Ajax

Urby Emanuelson says the chance to work with Fulham manager Martin Jol was the key reason behind his switch to the club from Italian giants AC Milan.

Jol was Emanuelson’s boss when the 26-year-old was at Ajax and, after an indifferent spell at San Siro, he jumped at the chance to be reunited with the Cottagers’ manager on deadline day.

"Martin Jol was a big part of the move as I'd worked already with him,” he told the club’s official website.

"I need a little bit of trust at the moment and he's a coach who believes in me. That is one of the big reasons why I came here."

Emanuelson made his debut for Fulham as a second-half substitute in the narrow 1-0 loss at home to Manchester United, and the 26-year-old admitted is was a tough baptism of fire.

The London side had two goal-bound efforts cleared off the line and hit the woodwork before Wayne Rooney netted the sole goal 11 minutes from time, and the midfielder recognised his new side were unlucky to come away from the clash empty handed.

"It wasn't an easy game to make my debut in," he added. "It was a tough match, but in the second half we really fought well and it looked like we would get at least a point.

"We fought as a team. You saw in the second half that we were getting stronger and stronger. We were unlucky in the box as well. But with the strikers they have, they can always score goals.

"We can be happy with the way we played but, of course, the result was not what we wanted.

"It's a good feeling to make my debut. I just want to play more than I was in Milan. I'd only trained once with Fulham before the game so I'm happy that I could play 25 minutes."

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