Hodgson rules out Liverpool title challenge

Roy Hodgson has accused Mohamed Al Fayed of damaging their relationship after the Fulham owner hit out at Hodgson for quitting Craven Cottage to join Liverpool.Hodgson has admitted he was disappointed to read his former chairman's comments in the wake of him leaving Fulham to succeed Rafael Benitez at Anfield.Al Fayed, 77, accused Hodgson of letting the club down by walking out on them.

Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez endured another day to forget after his side were beaten 3-1 at Fulham and had two men sent-off at Craven Cottage here on Saturday.Defenders Philipp Degen and Jamie Carragher were both shown straight red cards in the space of two second half minutes as the good work the Reds achieved in reviving their Premier League title challenge during last week's win over Manchester United was undone.Bobby Zamora had given Fulham the lead but Liverpool had no idea of what was to follow when Fernando Torres volleyed an equaliser.

Liverpool signed defender Paul Konchesky from Fulham for an undisclosed fee on Tuesday, with Lauri Dalla Valle and Alex Kacaniklic moving to Craven Cottage as part of the deal.Reds boss Roy Hodgson had been keen to land left-back Konchesky from his former club since taking over at Anfield in the close-season and he finally got his man in the last hours before the transfer window shut.

Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard insists Roy Hodgson's arrival as manager has already transformed the atmosphere at Anfield.Gerrard's side ended last season in disarray as Rafael Benitez's reign petered out with the team suffering their worst Premier League finish for over a decade.The Reds' morale was at rock-bottom as players lost faith with Benitez, who left Liverpool to take charge at Inter Milan during the close-season.But England star Gerrard believes Hodgson has erased all the gloom since his move to Merseyside from Fulham.

Liverpool bosses are determined not to be rushed into a panic appointment to replace Rafael Benitez following the Spanish manager's exit from Anfield.Benitez departed by mutual consent on Thursday after a six-year reign on Merseyside and a host of potential candidates have already been linked with the vacant position.Fulham's Roy Hodgson and Aston Villa's Martin O'Neill are the leading contenders, although Benfica coach Jorge Jesus, Croatia boss Slaven Bilic and former Manchester City manager Mark Hughes are also in the running.

Fulham star Zoltan Gera believes his side's controversial weekend break could prove the decisive factor as they aim to continue their Europa League fairytale against Hamburg on Thursday.Cottagers boss Roy Hodgson risked the wrath of the Premier League when he rested nine first-team players for Sunday's 2-1 defeat at Everton to keep them fresh and injury-free ahead of the semi-final second leg at Craven Cottage.West Ham complained to the Premier League when Hodgson made a similiar selection for a loss at Hull before his team's quarter-final against Wolfsburg.

English Premier League club Fulham have yet to approach Sven-Goran Eriksson or Cardiff boss Dave Jones about the vacant manager's job at Craven Cottage.The Cottagers have just three weeks to find a new boss before the start of the Premier League season on August 14 after conceding defeat in their bid to sign Ajax coach Martin Jol.Eriksson and Jones are reported to be top of Fulham's wanted list as they seek to replace Roy Hodgson but neither have received an offer yet.

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has hailed Fulham?s progression to the Europa League final as "one of the best performances of all time."Roy Hodgson?s men came from behind to beat Hamburg at Craven Cottage on Thursday evening to confirm their place in the first European final in the small west London club's history.Ferguson sent Hodgson a text message before the game wishing him luck and was full of praise for the Fulham manager."Roy should be manager of the year, there is absolutely no doubt about it," he said.