Lawrie Sanchez has kept his thoughts to himself since he was dismissed by Fulham two months ago but yesterday the former Northern Ireland manager claimed that the Barclays Premier League club had gone backwards under Roy Hodgson. Fulham hit the panic button and replaced Sanchez as their manager with Hodgson when the team dropped into the relegation zone before Christmas.

“The ironic thing is that I was sacked when they were one point in the relegation zone and now they are five points from safety,” Sanchez said. “Having dropped into the bottom three for the first time, I was then sacked having changed 30 players – 15 in and 15 out. Any sensible person will tell you it takes time for a team to settle. Why undertake the rebuilding of a team if you are not going to see it through?”

Sanchez arrived at the club as a caretaker manager last April while he was still in charge of Northern Ireland. His nononsense approach and direct tactics helped the club to avoid relegation and earned him a full-time contract and a budget of more than £25 million to spend on players last summer. In return he was asked to give up the Northern Ireland job.

“I’m disappointed it ended the way it did at Fulham and I’m disappointed I gave up the Northern Ireland job,” he said. “If I had been stronger, I would have done both jobs and at least I would still be considered a quality international manager.”

Fulham have won only once since Sanchez was replaced by Hodgson, despite spending about £10 million in the transfer window last month. Since Hodgson took over, the team’s win percentage in the top flight has fallen from 17 to 11 per cent. Tomorrow they have a crucial home match against Manchester United.

“Last May I saved a team from relegation from the Premier League and I was still in charge of an international team at the top of their European Championship group,” Sanchez said. “Then, by December, I am out of work with no job.”

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