Cole - Fulham not for sale

Al Fayed: Not selling

Because you sell your house you're not necessarily going to sell your car and if you do sell your house and you make a nice tidy sum you might actually upgrade your car.

Michael Cole
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Fulham director Michael Cole insists owner Mohamed Al Fayed has no intention of selling the club.

The Cottagers owner last week sold the department store Harrods for £1.5billion - after 25 years of being the chairman.

His decision to retire from the business ignited speculation that he may also decide to find a buyer for the West London club, but Cole insists that isn't the case.

"Because he's sold the shop doesn't mean he's going to sell the club," he told Sky Sports News.

"Because you sell your house you're not necessarily going to sell your car and if you do sell your house and you make a nice tidy sum you might actually upgrade your car, who can say what will happen."

Stay

Cole insists that the managerial situation at Craven Cottage is also set to remain the same - with the club confident of keeping Roy Hodgson at the helm.

Hodgson has attracted interest from a number of big clubs thanks to a successful season in charge of Fulham, which saw them reach the Europa League Final.

The 62-year-old has also been tipped as a possible successor to England coach Fabio Capello but Cole believes he is happy with his current situation.

"We do think he will stay," he said. "I think it would be extraordinary if he chose to go somewhere else because here at Fulham he has what every football manager says he wants in football.

"He has a free hand, he has the confidence of the chairman, they talk regularly, they get on extremely well and he gets the support he requires in the way that he wants it and that is the essence of football.

"On the field Roy quite rightly is king of his own kingdom and he runs the club brilliantly."

Spending

How the sale of Harrods will affect the club's spending this summer has yet to be confirmed and Cole insists there's only one man who can provide those answers.

"That really is a question of Mr Al Fayed," he said. "He certainly carried out a brilliant deal, he and his brother, for the sale of Harrods.

"What he will do in the future I think will be a question for Mr Al-Fayed."