Philippe Senderos shocked to see Mark Hughes leave Fulham: I did not see it coming, no-one did

EPL : Steed Malbranque – Philippe Senderos, Sunderland v Fulham

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Fulham defender Philippe Senderos has expressed his shock at seeing Mark Hughes walk out of his job at Craven Cottage and has urged the club’s board to appoint a successor as soon as possible.

The Welshman left his post at the west London outfit on Thursday after a successful season with the Cottagers, guiding them to eighth in the league and a place in the Europa League, in his first campaign with the club.

Following his surprise move, Hughes was immediately tipped to take the vacant manager role at Aston Villa, but such talk was quickly rubbished by the Midlands outfit.

Swiss defender Senderos says he never imagined the former Manchester United striker would give up his job at Fulham.

He told reporters: “I didn’t see it coming, no-one did.

“It’s sad for everyone because we have had a good campaign and we were hoping to build on that next season but we will see what happens.”

With the team expected to report back for pre-season training on June 23 and the beginning of the season effectively starting in less than four weeks thanks to their Europa League qualifier, the former Arsenal man wants a replacement in as soon as possible.

He added: “It’s something that happens in football. The sooner Fulham are able to get a manager, the better.”

Senderos was only able to play three times under Hughes after rupturing his Achilles tendon in August, but is now back to full fitness and is expected to feature in Saturday’s Euro 2012 Qualifier against England at Wembley.