Roy Hodgson is looking to take a positive approach to Tuesday’s FA Cup third round defeat to Bristol Rovers.
The Fulham boss saw his side dumped out of the competition on penalties by the LeagueOne side but feels that the performance of Jimmy Bullard has helped to soften the blow.
The midfielder started his first game since returning from a career-threatening knee injury and despite missing what proved to be the decisive spot-kick his manager was full of praise for how well the player has adjusted to life back in the first-team.
“Jimmy Bullard’s performance was an enormous comfort,” Hodgson said. “To play as well as he did after 14 months out in such a difficult game was a big comfort and the determination and aggression we showed to match Bristol Rovers was also a positive.
“I was surprised Jimmy lasted so long. We had Steve Davis on the bench and foremost in my mind was that at some stage in the game I would have to take Jimmy off but he was doing so well; poor Steve never got a chance to come on.
“And I don’t put his penalty miss down to tiredness, it was a good save. Their penalties were outstandingly good too. We only missed the one but never got a chance to get back in.”
