Zoltan Gera admits Fulham’s home date with Sunderland on Saturday has become a ‘massive’ fixture.

The Cottagers, following a bright opening to the season, have crashed into relegation trouble over recent weeks.

A six-match winless run has seen them tumble out of the top half of the table and into a basement battle.

They now sit just one place above the drop zone, with only goal difference keeping their head above water.

Just two wins all season tells its own story for Mark Hughes’ men, with nine draws in 16 outings having held them back.

It is now imperative that they return to winning ways as quickly as possible and Hungarian playmaker Gera is hoping a welcome morale boost can be secured against the Black Cats.

He believes Fulham’s showing in Saturday’s 2-1 defeat at Arsenal has given them cause for optimism and feels if they play like that again next time out they will be fine.

“We have to build on this performance and, if we keep playing like we did today, we will start to pick up more points,” said Gera.

“We were unlucky but Samir Nasri scored two fantastic goals. We created chances and were aggressive.

“The Sunderland game is massive for us, especially as we are at home. We need the three points.

“Hopefully we will play well like we did against Arsenal.” .