Andrew Yates/AFP/Getty ImagesMartin Jol, right, would be well-served to follow Sir Alex Ferguson's way of handling players regardless of salary

Fulham's latest loss last Saturday did nothing to lift the gloom, while yet another re-shaped Fulham starting eleven comes up short against modest opposition. That's not to denigrate Swansea, because like Fulham they are one of the EPL's smaller fry who can only delight in finding themselves comfortably mid-table. Yet, on an indifferent run themselves after a brilliant win at Arsenal, and missing the talismanic Michu in attack and Michel Vorm in goal, the Swans still did enough to make it three wins out of three over Fulham since promotion.

Martin Jol proclaimed himself ‘thunderstruck' after the failure to beat Southampton on Boxing Day. He’s been telling the press this is his 'toughest test' since taking the reins at the Cottage. Well, it is since the last time he trotted out the same line in November 2011. What might the quote be come Easter should we continue sliding down the league? The trouble with Martin’s underwhelming return to date is that he talks too much.

Consequently, his heart-on-sleeve approach does him and the side no favours. Once your words are committed to print, football being the volatile business it is, beware the beast when it bites back. What I'd like to hear right now coming out of press conferences is a measured but steely response that says we are rolling our sleeves up as one integrated and determined unit to get the side out of trouble – and that every single one of the 25-man squad has a vital part to play. End of quote.

I talked recently here about the Ferguson blueprint for football management, a lecture Sir Alex prepared for Harvard Business School. Having a galaxy of superstars at Old Trafford, with egos to match, and owners who expect to win major trophies every season in return for their massive cash outlay, brings pressures of a different kind now bearing down on the likes of Redknapp, Lambert, Martinez and Jol. In fact, SAF survives – and prospers – in a football bubble of constant media scrutiny few of us could stand.

At Old Trafford the team manager only ever gives out his team sheet two hours before kickoff. That keeps every squad member on his toes, and giving it his all throughout the week in training. Step out of line and expect the consequences. Contrast that with Jol's handling of Fulham’s two biggest offensive stars. The love-in with Dimitar Berbatov continues unabated – to the point where the Bulgarian thinks he can get away with a senseless t-shirt stunt early in a game we are desperate to win that costs him a booking, and could well have led to him being sent-off.

As for Bryan Ruiz, Jol’s position for weeks of free=fall from Fulham has been, once the Costa Rican is fit, all will be fine. Er, but what happens when Ruiz has returned for another four weeks of stumbling performances and by the end of January we find ourselves edging ever closer to the drop zone? Where does Jol then go next with the press? It really is not smart thinking. Furthermore, we heard at the top of the Christmas fixture week a return for Ruiz was imminent. Possibly from the bench for the Boxing Day game, as it transpired, and yes, a definite start for the sleek-haired wunderkind against Swansea. That’s right, why not reveal your game plan to the opposition well in advance? It’s not how Sir Alex would do things.

Let’s not assess what went wrong against Swansea, it’s becoming tiresome to continue lambasting those players so recently hailed as heroes. Poor David Stockdale was almost guaranteed to have a ‘mare after being so consistently undermined by the manager. When I saw him having a run of games with Mark Schwartzer away on international duty I found him rock solid. Now his departure is inevitable, let’s hope he goes on to play again in the top flight for Hull City.

But there’s nowhere to hide when Jol goes public with the press to say Kieran Richardson’s had a dressing down for being unfit and just not good enough. Ye Gods, we were almost universal on this platform in questioning that piece of business last September - an embarrassing two-million-pound mistake from the management team we all saw coming!

I’m still prepared to cut the boss some slack on Arslan Dejagah, remembering how it took a whole season before Fulham saw how to get the best out of dear old Clint Dempsey, but the Iranian had better step it up sometime soon.

Let’s get back to my rhetorical question. There were signs in the Swansea defeat the players realise the rot has to stop quickly. There was an urgency not seen in the apocalyptic performance at QPR, albeit we are still not creating enough good openings in the final third. Significantly too from the defeat, the boss is finally catching up with fan sentiment and realising who needs to be discarded from the side.

What should Jol do now? Results elsewhere still suggest there are enough poor sides beneath Fulham to ride out this season and survive. The Dutchman must turn the page from January and establish a core group of players he will stick with, asking them to run through treacle and do whatever it takes to guarantee EPL status. Two or three major signings should bolster key positions where we are weak, and five home wins against the fellow strugglers around us will be enough.

This is not what I envisaged writing going into 2013 back in the autumn when the sun shone so brightly, but now is the time to stand up and be counted. We are still in a far better position than others - Villa, Rangers and Reading for starters, but the corner must be turned now and points put on the board.

The away game at West Brom New Year's Day may come too soon for this current side, but after a breather against Blackpool in the Cup, Jol and his team must knuckle down and get this team playing again. One thing is paramount, we cannot tolerate any more bad buys in the transfer market. If Jol gets this wrong yet again, we are faced with changing our manager in March and staring at another nerve-shredding run-in as endured in 2008. . . . Is history about to repeat itself?

Sorry, wish I could be more optimistic with my New Year greetings everyone. However, Fulham are not getting turned over to the tune of seven or eight goals against, so yes, it must get better.

Twitter@fulhamphil

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