Steve Marlet

Lorient's former Fulham striker Steve Marlet is keen on a return to first-team action but does not want a January move. He was speaking to eurosport.com ahead of the Breton derby against Rennes this weekend and denied rumours linking him with a move to Israel.

"No I won't be part of the starting line-up tomorrow," Marlet told eurosport.com. "It is not worrying but it is annoying for me to sit on the bench."

"The situation is complicated because the other two strikers are very good. They are playing well so it's hard for me to fight for my place."

Marlet's career has gone into a tailspin since his £11.5 million move from Lyon to Fulham in 2001, where he only scored 11 league goals in 54 appearances for the club and is generally regarded to have been the club's worst ever buy.

The 32-year-old former Red Star Paris and Auxerre forward then joined Marseille on loan for 18 months, where he scored 16 goals in the same number of games, but was not offered a permanent deal and had an ill-fated spell at German club Wolfsburg.

He was released after just one season in the Bundesliga and now plies his trade at Ligue 1 side Lorient.

Marlet is, however, finding his first-team opportunities limited at the club with Pierre-André Gignac (six goals this season) and Hamed Namouchi proving tough to oust.

But the former France international is looking at the positives and happy to exploit his good health and relative stability at a club for the first time in a number of seasons."

"I will be fit for the beginning of the New Year as I will experience the same preparation as my team-mates, which will be a huge change," he said. "It's been a long time since I did a full pre-season."

"I have heard about the Israeli rumours, but I don't want to leave.

"Israel may be a good holiday destination, but not to play football."