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Roy Hodgson
Clear out: Roy Hodgson is changing the Fulham squad

Hodgson: I'd love it if we could do a Pompey

David Smith, Sports Correspondent
13 May 2008


Fulham manager Roy Hodgson wants his team to emulate Portsmouth next season after they secured their top-flight status.

Hodgson is a close friend of Pompey boss Harry Redknapp, and he has revealed his admiration for the FA Cup finalists after winning 1-0 at Fratton Park on Sunday to avoid relegation.

"Portsmouth have some very good players," said Hodgson. "They've spent money wisely. Harry, with his authority and his great status within the game, is a magnet for certain players. He's put together a very good team and in that respect I'm quite jealous.

"I don't think I can use Portsmouth as a blueprint. Every club is different in terms of its budgets and the type of people it can attract. Your location can also affect things there.

"What I will say is Harry has had time to put his team together, and he's put it together very wisely and it's paid dividends. They've had a marvellous season in the league and now they're in the Cup Final. All congratulations to him and certainly we'd like to think that given time we could put a team together that fits our way of thinking and our way of playing."

Hodgson will clear the decks at Fulham. Ahead of Sunday's dramatic finale at Portsmouth he revealed his squad was so big he had to split it in two during training sessions.

"It is not easy at any stage to have a group of over 30 top professionals to manage," he said.

Club captain and talisman Brian McBride is out of contract and the veteran American has hinted at wanting to take his young family back across the Atlantic.

But Hodgson may seek to persuade him to stay for one more season. Sunday's goal hero Danny Murphy and Paul Stalteri have signalled they want to stay.

Meanwhile, Franck Queudrue, who left Fulham for Birmingham City last summer, has hit back after being branded "rubbish" by David Sullivan.

The defender's St Andrew's career seems over after City's co-owner claimed the £2.5million signing was one of the worst buys the club made last summer.

"It's horrendous. Obviously I cannot stay in a club where the chairman makes comments like that about the players," said the 29-year-old, who made just 14 League starts this term.

"He (Sullivan) should have pointed the finger at the players who have played most of the season. I didn't get enough games."

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