Fulham boss Scott Parker has heaped praise on his Cardiff counterpart Neil Harris and expects a stern examination of Fulham’s promotion credentials when the two sides meet at Craven Cottage this evening.
The Bluebirds have only lost once since domestic football resumed after the enforced coronavirus break – a reverse against Blackburn Rovers on Tuesday. Such sustained form puts the south Wales side in the play-off positions with four games to play and Parker knows Fulham will need to be at their best to get a result.
“It’s a tough game. They’re a team that was Premier League not so long ago. We understand their qualities, they’ve got some very good players, some experience in their team, players who have been in and around the Premier League. We understand their qualities and what they’re going to bring.
Neil’s done a very good job there. They’ve got a bit of momentum, I know they had a bad result midweek, but they’ve picked up some good results against good teams. They beat Leeds in their first game back after lockdown, so we’re going into this game fully focused as it will be a tough evening for us.”
Parker confirmed that Fulham will have to do without the services of skipper Tom Cairney this evening.
“Tom’s still struggling at the moment, he won’t be available for tomorrow,” Parker revealed. “It’s day to day really with Tom, the problem is that the games are literally only two or three days [apart]. The turnaround is pretty quick. I don’t think it’s a big one, it’s not one which we’re too concerned about, but the dynamics of the division and the games schedule means you’re missing games with just a week’s injury, or a 10 day injury you can be missing three or four games. We’ll manage every day and see where we are.”
