WHEN George Best and Rodney Marsh were strutting their stuff at Craven Cottage in the mid-seventies, Fulham had plenty of style but little substance.

Now, laced with French flair, they have both as they look to regain the top-flight status they haven't enjoyed since 1968.

A clutch of managers have tried to emulate Bedford Jezzard's promotion feat without success.

Malcolm McDonald went close in the days of Ray Houghton and Gordon Davies in the 1980s and Kevin Keegan looked as though he might manage it before England beckoned.

But Fulham may now have finally found the answer in former French international Jean Tigana, who puts a perfect League record on the line against Burnley at Craven Cottage tonight.

Since the ex-Monaco manager arrived at the Cottage, Fulham have won six of their seven games with their only reverse coming at Northampton in the Worthington Cup.

They swiftly made amends, however, beating the Second Division side 4-1 in the return leg.

And in the League, their progress has been faultless.

Sunday's 5-1 win over Barnsley put Fulham a couple of points clear at the top of the table thanks to the only 100 per cent record in the country.

The early signs have fully vindicated Tigana's managerial style. He has signed only three players -- albeit top-class ones in John Collins, Louis Saha and Luis Boa Morte -- but brought a new footballing culture to the banks of the Thames.

"What Jean has done here is what he's always advocated. He asks the players to play simple football," explained Collins.

"What we're doing isn't complicated. We're passing the ball quickly and moving. Of course, in order to do that well you have to be fit and sharp, and that's why we work very hard on the training ground.

"It's all precision training. Nothing is left to chance.

"A lot of coaches in this country think that if you train lots then the players will be fit, but that's not necessarily the case.

"What we do at Fulham is not too much, but not too little. It's a science. Players have been taught how to stretch properly, what dieting really means, what they should drink, how their muscles work. "Everything is done for a reason, it's not just done to kill time."

Collins played under Tigana at Monaco and the two are clearly close.

The former Scottish international moved from Everton and the Premiership during the summer to rekindle their relationship and as well as a key player in midfield, is often the link between management and players thanks to his fluency in French and his understanding of the methods of Tigana and his French backroom staff.

"Jean has assembled a fantastic team. You wouldn't believe it. They're here morning until night every day of the week and love the job.

"I've been in the game 16 years and I've never seen anything like it," added the 34-year-old playmaker, who is struggling to shake off a groin strain in time to face the Clarets.

Sunday's win was the first game he had missed but his absence wasn't keenly felt as Fulham overran Barnsley with a first-half hat-trick from £2 million signing Saha and then romped through the second half.

Possession is the key and the Clarets must do everything to disrupt Fulham's ryhthm and then cherish the ball when they have it.

"I think players in this country have to be told to relax when in possession of the ball," Collins added.

"Some foreign teams don't always try to score every time they've got the ball.

"Often, their aim is to tire the opposition by keeping possession and then picking their moment in the last 20 minutes when they cut you up.

"When you don't have any juice you cannot show your skills, you lose possession."

Burnley will doubtless look to keep it tight and expose Fulham on the break with the Londoners' lack of midfield width possibly giving the Clarets a route of attack.