Fulham Appoint Former Manchester United Assistant Rene Meulensteen as Head Coach

Fulham have appointed Rene Meulensteen as their new head coach to work alongside manager Martin Jol at the Premier League club.

The Craven Cottage side announced the arrival of the former Manchester United first-team coach on their official website, FulhamFC.com.

Meulensteen, 49, worked under Sir Alex Ferguson at Old Trafford as first-team coach between 2008 and 2013. He was released by new United manager David Moyes, who wanted to bring in his own backroom staff.

The Dutch coach will now be charged with helping Jol to maintain Fulham's status in the Premier League.

The London club are currently third from bottom in the table after a run of three successive league defeats, with the most recent being the 4-0 drubbing at Liverpool on Saturday.

During that sequence, Fulham were also knocked out of the Capital One Cup by Leicester City of the Championship.

Now Fulham owner Shahid Khan has moved to lift the team with the arrival of Meulensteen to work alongside compatriot Jol.

Meulensteen told the club's website he and Jol share the same footballing philosophy:

"

I was impressed by the vision of Shahid Khan and (chief executive) Alistair Mackintosh.

I've spent many hours talking with Martin Jol and we share a vision of how football should be played and how players should be developed.

It's our job to make sure we can bring this vision to life on the pitch for the fans.

"

Meulensteen was appointed as assistant to Guus Hiddink at Anzhi Makhachkala in July following his departure from United, but his role lasted just 16 days before the Russian club began to cut back costs drastically, as The Guardian reported.

Meulensteen will begin his new role at Fulham with immediate effect, as the club prepare for their next league match against Swansea City at Craven Cottage on Nov. 23.