"I don't feel vulnerable because I'm a strong f*****," the big Dutchman warned after their 3-3 draw at Fulham.

"You can't expect us to be a 100 per cent team overnight. We had a worse start than this last season and still finished fifth.

"We've had so many good times but sometimes you get games like this."

Jol refused to accept that he handed Fulham the initiative when, at 3-1 up and in total control, he sent on Jermain Defoe for Robbie Keane midway through the second half.

There is no doubt Jol is under pressure from his board to keep Defoe happy in their efforts to persuade the England hitman to sign a new deal.

But Jol insisted: "It wasn't a case of giving Jermain a go. Fulham looked vulnerable and I thought he could do something.

"Keane and Dimitar Berbatov did well in big spells but we would have killed Fulham off if they had held the ball better - so I made the change.

"It's easy to say with hindsight I should have left Robbie on but he did not have the best of games.

"It's horrible trying to keep them all happy. It's not easy if everyone feels they should play."