Van Gaal in talks with Fulham

The former Barcelona and Dutch national coach Louis van Gaal met senior representatives of Fulham in the Netherlands yesterday to discuss the possibility of his becoming their new manager.

Van Gaal spoke at length with Fulham's interviewing team at an Amsterdam hotel to discuss the post. Van Gaal's interest in the job, first revealed a fortnight ago, drew a reaction from the London club who initially were only interested in a domestic candidate to replace Jean Tigana.

Fulham wanted to hear Van Gaal's ideas for the future, what players he would bring and how much the whole package would cost, which is probably the major point as their budget is to be reduced.

Van Gaal, for his part, was keen to discover if Fulham had the ambition and the money to chase for honours. The club are currently talking to a shortlist of possibles and will decide in the next few weeks.

Van Gaal is not the only manager they have spoken to after narrowing down the field from the first list of about 30 candidates.

Nottingham Forest's Paul Hart and Derby's caretaker-manager George Burley are also in the frame although their personal fates are yet to be decided this season, leaving the other candidates with the first chance to impress.

However, Leicester's Micky Adams has been counted out of the running. His return was mooted at first, but too much history remains from his previous spell in charge – and he is also no longer interested.

The Frenchman Luis Fernandez, who leaves Paris St-Germain in the summer, has claimed to have had contact with Fulham but insiders say he is not a candidate.

* The Everton striker Wayne Rooney will not face police action for spitting on the pitch close to Liverpool fans during the Merseyside derby. A spokeswoman for Merseyside Police said that Rooney will be "advised" about his conduct but no further action will be taken. "Wayne Rooney will be seen by a senior officer at the earliest opportunity, in the presence of his manager, and will be given suitable advice," the spokeswoman said. "No further police action will be contemplated once we have done that."