Fulham could name an unchanged side for their Barclays Premier League match against Blackburn.
Despite a heavy fixture pile-up in recent weeks, boss Roy Hodgson has no serious injury concerns, although Chris Baird is still battling a minor leg problem.
Giles Barnes is continuing to build match fitness in the reserves but may not be ready for action against Rovers.
Roy Hodgson believes his chances of taking Fulham to the next level depend as much on decisions in the boardroom as progress on the training pitch.
Hodgson oversaw a remarkable fight against relegation last season, culminating in safety on the final day of the campaign, and he has already set about transforming his side from perennial relegation candidates into a fixture in the top half of the table.
The Cottagers go into the match against Hodgson’s former club in 10th but, despite his insistence that mathematical safety remains top priority, could realistically be eyeing as high a finish as seventh.
Hodgson, though, is working with a threadbare senior squad and acknowledges the club would need to add significant depth if contention for European places is to become the norm.
Asked if he had a clear vision of where he wants to take Fulham in the next few years, Hodgson said: ‘That is not just a question for me, but also for the chief executive of the club and the owner Mohamed Al Fayed.
‘It is up to them to decide. If things go okay this season and we do achieve our goal of stabilising the club and being less relegation prone – which I said was the aim from day one – then we are looking better and it will be up to the chairman to decide where he wants to take the club.
‘There is no doubt that to take the club to the next step, it won’t be purely down to the coaching and the preparation we try and do, it will also be down to recruitment – what players we can bring in to strengthen what is a very fragile squad.”
