• Rene Meulensteen may be entitled to compensation
• Curbishley, Wilkins understood to have left club on Monday

Fulham are expected to make a formal announcement regarding the departures of Alan Curbishley and Ray Wilkins from the club, with Rene Meulensteen potentially entitled to compensation through breach of contract employment law. Curbishley, the technical director, and Wilkins, assistant manager, are both understood to have left the club on Monday following the appointment of Felix Magath last Friday, with the German due to hold a press briefing for the first time on Thursday.

The future of Meulensteen remains unresolved and his severance package is a matter of debate. The Dutchman replaced Martin Jol as manager on 1 December but his role as head coach never specifically changed. On Friday he said he had been “released” but his picture still remained on the Fulham website on Tuesday night, alongside the title head coach.

The sports employment lawyer Will Nash, a senior associate at Charles Russell who has advised Premier League clubs and managers on employment cases in the past, believes Meulensteen could have a case for constructive dismissal if he walks out of Fulham.

He said: “Trying to make him do something that he doesn’t agree with is almost certainly a breach of his contract. Even if he was still technically under his contract as ‘head coach’, it doesn’t sound like [Felix] Magath is going to want him to have the authority that he might have expected as a head coach.

“As a matter of law, if you are effectively demoted or your duties are reduced, then you can argue as the employee that the employer has breached your contract. But then it’s on you to actually walk out.

“At law, if they’ve effectively demoted him, which it sounds like they have, he’s going to have the ability to say I’m suing you for the rest of my contract.”

Ironically one of only a few Premier League managers to have won a constructive dismissal case against a top-flight club was Curbishley, following his departure from West Ham in 2008.

• Fulham
• Premier League

James Riach

theguardian.com