I'm hoping Fulham stay up, but let's face it, they'll never be a big team

"We stayed up but we weren't celebrating and I told my players, if I saw any of them celebrating, they'd be for it. We were the fourth worst team in the division."

This weekend it is the turn of the managers fighting to finish 17th in the Barclays Premier League — Roy Hodgson, Steve Coppell and Alex McLeish. There can only be one winner and they must all suffer in public as the drama unfolds.

Unlike Coleman's players, Fulham will be encouraged to uncork the bubbly if they beat Portsmouth. Chairman Mohamed al Fayed promised to hand out Harrods hampers full of champagne and caviar and even offered to throw in some Viagra.

For so long, Hodgson's team looked doomed and Coleman hopes the struggle will spark more realistic expectations at Craven Cottage.

"This could turn out to be a blessing in disguise," said the 37-year-old Welshman, sacked by Fayed 13 months ago. "It will sober up those people who think they should be a top 10 club. They don't have 40,000 supporters, they don't have a top 10 budget. Why should they be top 10?

"Fulham are a great little club but that's what they are, a great little club. I hope they stay up and I hope they stop being unrealistic. If that happens they can be Premier League for a long time to come. When people get unrealistic, that's when the wheels come off."

In the motivational world of modern sport, high expectations are supposed to propel you towards greater achievement. But Fayed's pledge to turn Fulham into the Manchester United of the south still haunts him and those who work for him. When the club were in safely in mid-table, everyone wanted more.

"It was all thrown at me," said Coleman. "We want more exciting football, you're only playing with one striker, you're not winning away from home. But the players and staff are not daft, they know deep down where the club should be. At the start of each season, they know it is going to be a struggle, another hard season, but they know the club will be alright it if they stick together."

Fulham's late revival is widely credited to the return of Brian McBride and Jimmy Bullard after serious knee injuries.

"It's not a coincidence," agreed Coleman. "They're two great players and two great leaders. Brian is the consummate professional. He's a great target man, he scores goals and will give you blood, sweat and tears every time he pulls his jersey on.

"Jimmy is loud and confident, getting into everyone's ear in the dressing room. He plays with a smile on his face. On top of that he has quality. I wouldn't want to heap blame on him but I might still be there if he wasn't injured. We played a style to suit Jimmy. We had great legs in midfield with Michael Brown and Papa Bouba Diop. We missed his invention. He suffered and I suffered."

Coleman played briefly for Hodgson at Blackburn and believes the latest Fulham boss will succeed if he is given time.

"He is a very good coach with a vast knowledge," said Coleman. "If they stay up, he's done a great job. If they go down they need to hang onto him. People will say it's his fault but look at where they were when he came in. He's the right man for the job. You can't keep changing managers every five minutes."

Coppell is another old acquaintance of Coleman — they shared relegation misery at Crystal Palace in 1993 — and is another victim of inflated expectations.

"It was a miracle when Reading finished eighth last season," said Coleman. "But Steve never gets carried away whether he's losing or winning. Reading can get a result at Derby but what happens at Portsmouth is the most relevant. Harry Redknapp won't want to go into the FA Cup Final having just lost at home."

Coventry were relegated from the Premier League in 2001, the year Fulham went up, and graphically illustrate the problems lurking ahead for Sunday's losers.

Coleman said: "Those who come down will be under pressure to go straight back up, but it's hard. You lose your better players and crowds get smaller as people start to lose interest. Then you lose the parachute payments. It's tough dropping out. Coventry have never even made the play-offs since they came down. Three times we've been playing to avoid relegation on the last day of the season.

"Coventry should not be in this position. We have to improve in every department. We've taken the first step by staying in this division. Now we have to put a team together to get into the top 10 and make an assault on the play-offs."

That is a manager's reward for surviving the shredding machine.