The night before Christmas they're all in the house after Lewington tries to cheer up Fulham

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Lewington will be in charge at Tottenham today and may find himself at the helm for the entire holiday period as chairman Mohamed Al Fayed resists the temptation to make a snap decision to replace Lawrie Sanchez.

• More Fulham news

John Collins remains favourite after resigning at Hibernian a day before Sanchez was sacked on Friday but Craven Cottage officials are anxious not to appear in panic.

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They want to examine all options and, if Collins is then appointed in the New Year, it will dilute the notion that the Scot had been tapped up, although Hibs are unlikely to be convinced.

The Fulham squad trained yesterday but were told they would not have to report to a London hotel for the night as Lewington tried to remove any excuses players might seek to feel sorry for themselves.

The finals weeks of the short Sanchez reign were spent cursing bad luck over costly late goals and poor refereeing as a sense of doom seeped into the dressing room.

Former Tottenham midfielder Danny Murphy said: "When things aren't going well a cloud does come over. The fans get anxious. The players get anxious. You could see the tension in how we played. I wouldn't say we felt sorry for ourselves but we did go in to each game thinking, 'here we go again'."

In the new climate, Fulham will not be allowed to moan at the timing of a visit to Tottenham, who proved they are close to finding their stride in Saturday's narrow defeat at Arsenal.

Murphy said: "I know more than most about the quality they have there. Not many teams will go to Arsenal and pass the ball as well as they did in the first half. They can go on an eight-game unbeaten run and shoot up the table."