Tigana casts cloud over his Fulham future

Fulham's manager, Jean Tigana, has cast doubt on his long-term future with the club, demanding talks with the chairman Mohamed Al Fayed and admitting that he may leave when his contract expires at the end of the season.

The toothpick-chewing Frenchman has had two successful years since taking over, gaining promotion to the Premiership in his first season, but he is believed to be concerned about the role of Franco Baresi, the former Milan defender, who has been brought in as director of football and is already being tipped as the next manager.

Tigana said yesterday: "I don't know if the chairman wants me to stay – or if I want to stay. I don't know what's happening inside the club. I need a meeting with my chairman about that."

There is also uncertainty about whether Fulham will return to Craven Cottage after spending the next two years sharing Loftus Road with Queen's Park Rangers. With redevelopment costs escalating, the club have admitted investigating a new site close to White City.

They were involved in further controversy yesterday, when the signing of the French international defender Martin Djetou from Parma on a year's loan prompted criticism from the Professional Footballers' Association about misuse of the system. Earlier this week they used a similar arrangement to obtain the services of the Japan World Cup player Junichi Inamoto.

They will have the option of signing each player in a year, but the PFA's Barry Horne said yesterday: "The loan system is being abused. It was originally brought in to help clubs in emergencies."

Neither players will be available for today's home leg of Fulham's Intertoto Cup third round tie against Egaleo, of Greece, at Craven Cottage.

Aston Villa, competing for the second successive year, join the tournament this weekend, but the new season has come too early for six of their players, who appeared in the World Cup. Alpay Ozalan, Olof Mellberg, Steve Staunton, Darius Vassell, Marcus Allback and Bosko Balaban will not travel to Switzerland for tomorrow's tie against FC Zurich.

Juan Pablo Angel is out with a knee injury, but Villa have discovered that they can field the unsettled Dutch midfielder George Boateng in any tie before 1 August without his becoming ineligible for European competition, which would reduce his transfer value. With three central defenders unavailable, Dion Dublin is likely to play at the back, possibly alongside Liam Ridgewell, an 18-year-old who helped Villa win the FA Youth Cup.

Last season Villa did the hard part, returning early from their holidays and qualifying for the Uefa Cup, only to lose 3-2 at home to Varteks of Croatia and go out immediately on away goals.

Zurich, who in the mid-70s won three successive national titles and met Liverpool in the semi-final of the European Cup, were short of goals last season, scraping into the end-of-season championship pool and finished fifth. The winners face Lille or Romania's Gloria Bistrita.