Antti Niemi has hailed the arrival of Roy Hodgson as the new manager of Fulham.
Keeper happy to work with Hodgson again
Antti Niemi has hailed the arrival of Roy Hodgson as the new manager of Fulham.
Hodgson officially took charge on Sunday following Fulham's draw at Birmingham.
And Niemi - who worked under Hodgson during his stint as manager of Finland - is looking forward to working with him again.
"When I was with the Finland team, it was always the defence first and, for me, that is absolutely brilliant," said Niemi.
"He is very good at organising teams.
"Obviously when you are in the relegation zone, as a goalkeeper you think you are probably leaking too many goals.
"That is what he is really good at - organising the defence. That is what I am really looking forward to!
Backbone
"There is nothing wrong with us playing football - we can pass the ball pretty well at times - we just need that bit of steel back in the team, a bit of backbone. It looks a bit shaky at times so that is probably the first thing he will try and fix."
Niemi admitted that he had given his recommendation to the Fulham board when he was asked about Hodgson's possible arrival.
"They asked me about him and I gave my thoughts," said Niemi.
"It is not difficult to guess that they were very positive. I know he is a wonderful manager with great experience so personally I am pleased he is with us now."
