Last Updated: Fri, 02 Mar 2012 18:15
Fulham manager Martin Jol does not believe new-boy Mahamadou Diarra has anything to prove despite being without a club since last summer.
The 30-year-old former Real Madrid midfielder joined the Cottagers earlier this week, penning a deal until the end of the season with an option of extending it by a further year.
Diarra once cost a reported £22million but has been without a club since leaving Monaco in the summer.
The Malian is hoping to resurrect his career in the Premier League, and Jol said. "The trick with players like him is not to start telling them they need to prove something, that you need to look at them and invite them over for a couple of weeks.
"The trick is to get the information on whether he is fit and that is the information I had. Of course we had a little look him, he wasn't aware of that but we had a little look. He has been here for two weeks now, went back to France for his work permit and everything is fine.
"We did not just start looking at him a couple of days ago. It is three weeks ago since I started to contact him when we were on 27 points. The main thing is to get enough points. [Steve] Sidwell is out and I was wary about Danny [Murphy] getting an injury - of course he is not 21 and he is playing all those games. I thought the main thing was to have enough players and the other thing is that it is always nice to have someone who wants to play here next season."
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