Martin Jol has no issue with Bobby Zamora

The 30-year-old’s relationship with the Cottagers manager has been a hot topic of debate in recent months and was fuelled further by the striker’s omission from Saturday’s match at Swansea. Zamora will return to the Fulham squad for tonight’s vital Europa League encounter against Odense but there is speculation that the England international could leave Craven Cottage in January, with Sunderland and QPR both mooted as potential destinations.

However, Jol brushed off such talk ahead of the Group K tie with the Danes, which Fulham must win to ensure progression to the knockout stage.

“I said to him a few weeks ago ‘do you love this club?’ and he said ‘yeah, I love this club, I love this team’,” Jol said. “I don’t think there is any problem. I think the grass is always greener [on the other side] but it is not only for him. There are always players in a squad of 24 or 25 players that look at other clubs, but this is a great club.

“There is not one player that has told me he does not want to play for this squad. I feel if you look at the media, they started this Bobby thing in August. There are a few youngsters that tell me they should be playing and are not playing all the time, but Bobby is totally different.

“I wanted a good atmosphere and a good team that pushes each other so I though last weekend it was time for Andy Johnson to play because he has scored goals. He had good games and worked hard in training so that was the motivation.”

Asked again whether there was a rift with Zamora, he retorted: “They (the media) said we had a ‘bust-up’ at the start of the season, but you always have a little bit of a disagreement. The main thing is the team, the club.”

Stoke City travel to play Besiktas tonight in what is effectively a dead rubber, with both teams already through to the next round. If Stoke secure a draw, they will finish top of Group E.