Jol: I've no problem with Zamora

Fulham manager Martin Jol has played down talk of a rift with Bobby Zamora.

The 30-year-old's relationship with the Cottagers boss has been a hot topic of debate in recent months and was fuelled further by the striker's omission from Saturday's match at Swansea.

Jol brushed off transfer talk ahead of Wednesday's Europa League Group K tie with Odense, which the west Londoners need to win to ensure progression to the knockout stage, with the Dutchman saying: "I don't think there is any problem. I think the grass is always greener [on the other side] but it is not only for him."

He continued: "I said to him a few weeks ago 'do you love this club?' and he said 'yeah, I love this club, I love this team'.

"There are always players in a squad of 24 or 25 players that look at other clubs, but this is a great club. There is not one player that has told me he does not want to play for this squad. I feel if you look at the media, they started this Bobby thing in August.

"There are a few youngsters that tell me they should be playing and are not playing all the time, but Bobby is totally different. I wanted a good atmosphere and a good team that pushes each other so I though last weekend it was time for Andy Johnson to play because he has scored goals.

"He had good games and worked hard in training so that was the motivation."

Asked again whether there was a rift with Zamora, he retorted: "They (the media) said we had a 'bust-up' at the start of the season, but you always have a little bit of a disagreement.

"If you want them to go into space and they want to come to the ball or, for example, [Pajtim] Kasami has to play on the right and wants to play number 10.

"I have got a lot of players who have to play in a different ways, like the youngster Kerim Frei. The main thing is the team, the club."