Fulham have failed with a fresh attempt to persuade Arsene Wenger back into management.
Former Arsenal manager Wenger turned down an approach from the Cottagers in November before they appointed Claudio Ranieri.
Undeterred by that knockback, the ambitious Londoners asked the question again of Wenger again more recently despite being Championship-bound.
Once again Wenger, who left Arsenal a year ago after 22 years in charge, said no following the enquiry. Wenger is continuing to ponder if and where he will make a return to football.
Meanwhile, Fulham have been weighing up their managerial options, including the new Wenger approach, while caretaker Scott Parker has been making his own case to land the job full-time.
Ambitious Fulham have been keen to see if they can tempt a big-name manager to take over at Craven Cottage.
They are ready to turn to Parker and hand him his first full-time managerial job if those attempts ultimately prove unsuccessful.
Parker was handed the caretaker reins in February following Ranieri’s dismissal and, with most of the damage already done by then, he was unable to prevent their relegation.
He did lead Fulham to three straight wins and clean sheets before Saturday’s 1-0 loss at Wolves, a run which enhanced his claims to land the job on a permanent basis. Fulham’s players are backing Parker’s bid to become the club’s next full-time manager.
Captain Tom Cairney said: “I’ve said for a long time that I think Scott has done an incredible job and, in my eyes, I think he is the right man for the job.”
