Hughes to fill Hodgson's shoes at Fulham

London: Mark Hughes has accepted an offer from Fulham to be the club's new manager and replace Roy Hodgson.

Roy Hodgson had left early in the summer to join Liverpool and Hughes's appointment has disappointed Sven-Goran Eriksson, who had been under consideration for the post for quite sometime.

Mohammad Al Fayed, the Fulham chairman, had turned to Hughes after the failure to prise Martin Jol from his contract at Ajax last week. But Hughes' capture represents a coup for the west London club, who have made startling progress in the past two seasons.

Hughes came to the fore after the impasse with Jol and it quickly became apparent that Al Fayed could satisfy his financial wishes, on both his contract and the budget for signings.

Al Fayed is determined to make an impact on the summer transfer market and he also has a history of backing his managers with funds.

Hughes faced a dilemma over whether to uproot from north-west England, where his family are settled, but his fierce ambition, which he believes can be sated at Craven Cottage, held sway. He is expected to bring with him his long-time assistant coaches Mark Bowen and Eddie Niedzwiecki, and the goalkeeping coach Kevin Hitchcock.