Interview Louis Saha: Matt Scott talks to a man happy with his lot in general, and his footballing career in particular

Louis Saha bounds in with a handshake as warm as his cheery smile. It is sunny outside and work is going well, especially with Fulham holding down fourth place in the Premiership.

But that is not the source of Saha's grin. "I don't get angry about things," he says. "Life is too beautiful for that. Football is the thing, I swear, I love that. In my life personally I'm just going to enjoy myself. If it's not on the pitch, it's elsewhere. Football and playing with my kid come first. Kids, kids are better than anything."

Better, it seems, than scoring goals, though they clearly have their uses. His 10 from 16 appearances this season have made him one of the Premiership's most coveted strikers, piquing even the interest of Manchester United.

Saha's summary of his lifestyle would certainly encourage Alex Ferguson, a manager wary enough of the excesses of modern footballers to have jettisoned many of his most talented players. So is he flattered by United's interest?

"For sure. It is an honour, it's a dream. You can't say anything else because it's just amazing. But I'm just happy to be here at Fulham, and to see teams like that interested, it's great."

Saha's enthusiasm is already obvious. "I like England, the people here are amazing," he says. "They love football like crazy, but when you go home you are never bothered, it's an easy life. Here you can see great goals and the commitment, the tackles, the contact. I just love it."

So taken are Saha and his French wife, Aurelie, by England that they gave his son a quintessentially English name. "I was at a wedding and a little boy there was called Stanley and all the girls ran up to him and I thought, I have to call my son that," Saha grins. "I would love to be named Stanley. Oh, what a name."

There is a wide-eyed boyishness about Saha's account of life and it is matched when he discusses his manager. The 25-year-old striker was deeply moved by the strength in adversity shown by Chris Coleman, whose playing career at Fulham was ended abruptly by a horrific car crash. Yet Saha has been further impressed by the Welshman's serendipity in his new management role.

"Chris Coleman is a great man," says Saha. "The way he escaped his accident, to have a smile on his face, while still working hard four or five months after, it was just amazing. For that I can't see any man who can impress me more than him.

"He has everything, all the ability to be a great manager. He's just perfect. He has that balance, he can work hard and laugh at the same time. It's fantastic that he has the respect because we can laugh with him and give 100 per cent."

Against their neighbours Chelsea at Loftus Road today, Saha insists the questions will be asked of the visitors, just one place above them in the league. With a draw and two defeats from their past three games, Chelsea's aura has diminished.

"You have to be the same when you play a big team like Chelsea. You can't have any fear," says Saha. "The pressure is on them, they have to win. For us, we have to do a good performance for our manager and our fans. We'll give 200 per cent because it's a derby and you just want to win. But we've performed well against Chelsea in recent years and the pressure is on them."

Pressure, though, is something Saha has always sought. His decision to come to England as a product of France's successful Clairefontaine academy was born of a desire to prove his detractors wrong.

He was unable to do that, however, in a six-month spell at Newcastle where first-team opportunities were limited. Saha remains grateful that Jean Tigana had the faith to come in for him.

"Tigana was very important for me. I owe him a lot because he gave me the chance to play in English football when people in France were saying maybe I was not physical enough for it," says Saha. "It was an uncertain time for everyone when he left."

Coleman's appointment was enough to convince Saha that the club's mobility would be upward.

But Saha refuses to get carried away. "The Champions League is not realistic for us," he says. "Not now. We have had a good run and we need to keep going. The UEFA Cup is a realistic target. You can see Arsenal going for the League Cup and then there will be another league spot free, so we can finish in the top seven."