Fulham boss Chris Coleman has set his sights on a top half finish despite a recent run of disappointing form and believes Fulham’s dream hinges on today’s clash with Champions League hopefuls Birmingham.
A victory at Loftus Road would leave the Londoners just two points behind Steve Bruce’s men with seven games still to play. But anything less would leave Cottagers boss Coleman with too much ground to make up.
He said: Birmingham are still going for a European place, but we’re only a few points behind so there’s plenty at stake. It’s a really big game for us and the lads feel there’s a lot to play for. “Birmingham play at a high tempo and battle for everything. Mikael Forssell is a very good striker who is capable of scoring goals against anyone.”
Coleman added: “We’re still part of the chasing group and it’s very tight – just seven points separate fourth from 10th.
“Newcastle and Liverpool have leaped ahead of us, and are favourites to get the other European places, but after that it’s fairly even.” If we can get a couple of wins and put a run together, which we haven’t done so far, then you never know.
“We’ve never been out of the top 10 all season and for the majority of that we were in the top six, so we’ve done very well.
“We must make sure we don’t slide out of the top 10,” said Coleman. He knows a top six finish is a long shot but added: I’ll be gutted if we don’t finish in the top 10 after such a decent campaign.
