Coleman: This season has been a rollercoaster

Coleman's appreciation for Mourinho's style of play is not surprising. The Welshman, like his Portuguese counterpart, places great emphasis on the need to be well-organised defensively. They are the very foundations upon which Fulham's success was built last season.

But after signing attack-minded players such as Andy Cole and Tomasz Radzinski in the summer, Coleman decided to change tact by opting for a more attacking approach. It is a decision he candidly regrets, having watched Fulham lose six of their opening 10 league matches.

"There are all sorts of reasons for us leaking goals and I'm not going to hide behind the players because I tinkered with the formation," he said. "We have been used to playing 4-5-1 and I switched it to 4-4-2, but I was starting to see gaps in midfield and the back."

Recent performances suggest those holes have been plugged. Furthermore, Sunday's emphatic 4-1 victory at Newcastle proved Fulham are a side to be feared.

Mourinho is sure to have taken note. Fulham leapt to 12th place in the table following Sunday's win, though Coleman remains realistic about the club's ambitions. "Our main objective is to make sure we are in the Premier League year in and year out," he said.

But Coleman is always asking questions of himself, so much so he finds it almost impossible to escape from the pressures of being Fulham manager since taking the job in April last year.

"If I'm out with my family or my friends, a lot of the time I'm staring into space because I'm thinking about what player I want to bring in or is so and so going to be fit," said Coleman. "I find it hard to switch off from the job."

The bookmakers did not envisage Coleman having such problems. He was tipped to be the first managerial casualty of last season. However, he led Fulham to ninth in the Premiership - their highest league finish. "We did great last year but that is finished," said Coleman.

"I don't care that people say I've got a really good chance to be a good manager in the future, I want to be a good manager now."

Mourinho is, by his own standards, not so much a good manager but a "special one". He also has infinitely more money to spend than Coleman, though, the Fulham manager is not at all envious.

"Every manager would like to have money to spend," said Coleman. "But I don't know whether I would like to have that much, because it brings extra pressure."