Source: Team_Talk
Davies: Roy has transformed us
Simon Davies says Fulham were a "mess" when Roy Hodgson took over and hailed their "modest" boss for transforming them into Euro contenders.[LNB] Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson claims Hodgson is a certainty to be named manager of the year following the Cottagers' "miraculous" march to the Europa League final, sealed with a battling 2-1 victory over Hamburg last night.[LNB]The 62-year-old former Switzerland, Blackburn and Inter Milan coach came in to save Fulham from what seemed certain relegation when appointed successor to Lawrie Sanchez in late December 2007.[LNB]He then led the club to its highest finish of seventh and with it what has turned out to be a memorable European campaign which included a famous win over Italian giants Juventus.[LNB]It is Hodgson's ability to get the best out of players such as captain Danny Murphy, Zoltan Gera and 19-goal Bobby Zamora which has proven his biggest attribute.[LNB]Davies - whose well-taken equaliser set up last night's stirring comeback - feels Hodgson deserves all the plaudits coming his way.[LNB]"It is hard to describe what an achievement it is to get a club like ours through to the Europa League final. The manager has done wonders with the club," the 30-year-old Wales international said.[LNB]"I have been here since he first came in, and as a team, we were really in a mess - we were struggling, conceding goal after goal.[LNB]"The first thing he worked on was our defensive shape, making us hard to beat and that carried us through to stay up and we have gone on from there."[LNB]Davies added: "We have got a modest manager, and he wants us to be a modest team - we are always the underdogs, but that suits us.[LNB]"This season, he has rotated when he had to, made big decisions when they were needed.[LNB]"The manager has such a composure and he instils that composure into the team.[LNB]"When we go away, we are compact, can frustrate teams and are very hard to beat.[LNB]"However, when we can get the ball down, we can also play some good football.[LNB]"To come back from 1-0 down says a lot about the character of this side because we kept playing for the team, not just ourselves."[LNB]Davies - who joined Fulham from Everton during January 2007 - had been through a difficult spell on the sidelines earlier in the campaign, and admits the prospect of a European final would at the time have seemed nothing more than a pipe dream.[LNB]"I was out for the a couple of months, struggling with a foot injury and back then it would have been hard to imagine nights like we have had," he said.[LNB]"I worked hard with the physios to get fit again, and the manager has put me back in the side. Hopefully with the goal, I have gone some way to repay him."[LNB]Fulham will meet Atletico Madrid in the final at Hamburg's HSH Nordbank Arena on May 12, after the Spaniards knocked Liverpool out on away goals.[LNB]Davies revealed the Fulham squad were not that disappointed to be facing continental opposition once again.[LNB]"We play Liverpool every year and playing Atletico Madrid will be something different for us, a great occasion," the midfielder said.[LNB]"While it is a shame it will not be an all-England final, I think the majority of lads would have wanted Madrid."[LNB]
