Fulham Coach Slavisa Jokanovic will hold crunch talks with Fulham owner Shahid Khan in London this week.
Jokanovic is under growing pressure after the club dropped into the relegation zone, following their 4-2 defeat at Cardiff on Saturday.
The Serb’s position is becoming increasingly precarious and he will meet Khan ahead of two crucial matches in which he needs to prove he is the man to turn things around.
Khan, who last week pulled out of his £600million bid to buy Wembley, is in the capital this week to watch his NFL side, Jacksonville Jaguars, play at Wembley on Sunday. His visit has been planned for months, but the American billionaire will want to see evidence that Jokanovic can improve his football club’s fortunes while in the capital.
Fulham play Bournemouth and Huddersfield in their next two Premier League matches and those fixtures could decide Jokanovic’s future.
Khan will be at Craven Cottage for the Bournemouth game on Saturday and Jokanovic needs to show he can stop Fulham leaking goals in front of the watching owner.
The west Londoners have the worst defensive record in the Premier League, having conceded 25 goals in nine matches, and there are growing concerns that they are too open.
Jokanovic has been criticised for not adapting their attractive, possession-based football to cope with the step up in level from the Championship since their promotion.
Fulham spent £100m on 12 new signings in the summer but they have managed just one League win and are showing no signs they are improving defensively.
Jokanovic guided Fulham to promotion via the play-offs last season and the club opened talks with the 50-year-old about extending his contract. But an agreement was not reached over the summer and that leaves the Serb in a precarious position, with under a year remaining on his deal. However, he has had a good relationship with Khan during his three years in charge and the Fulham hierarchy have backed him to put things right.
The primary focus of his talks with Khan is likely to be how Fulham will plug their leaky defence.
Fulham let in five goals against Arsenal in their last match before the international break and conceding four to Cardiff has set alarm bells ringing.
Cardiff had scored four goals in eight matches before the weekend but doubled their tally for the season as Fulham collapsed.
Asked if he is the right man to turn things around, Jokanovic said: “I am only thinking about the next game. This is my job. I must keep going. We are frustrated after this kind of defeat. We were not strong enough in our box. They scored easy goals. Even when we defend in numbers, they scored. We have to find a solution.”
“It is a big concern, for sure. We know that, the manager knows it and the players know it. It is the same thing every week and the goals are too easy for the opponents.”