With Fulham on a good run, Fulham head coach Slavisa Jokanovic wants his side to continue approaching each fixture as though it’s a cup final.
A draw at Birmingham City prior to the international break has been followed up by consecutive 2-1 triumphs over Milton Keynes Dons and Preston North End.
It’s form that’s moved the Whites seven points clear of the relegation zone, but Jokanovic knows this is no time for complacency.
“This battle is not finished,” he explained in his pre-Cardiff City press conference. “There are six very important games in front of us. We’re now in six cup finals.
“We don’t need to change anything and we’re thinking about the Cardiff game like it’s our last chance to lift a trophy, and for this trophy we’ll do everything to win the game.
“With this mentality, with this level of concentration and with this kind of desire, I believe we have a chance to make our supporters happy. This is the only target which we have in front of us ahead of the game.
“We’re on a positive streak at the moment. We were talking before about how we played very good football but couldn’t find the results. As everyone knows, it’s more important to win the games and win the points.
“In the last games we’ve tried to play a little bit differently, and we have to carry on with this positive manner, keep going and try and win more games in a row.”
Cardiff’s season is far from over, either, with Russell Slade’s men still harbouring hopes of a top-six finish.
They’re just four points off the pace as things stand, and Jokanovic is expecting a tough test against a side who will be approaching the fixture with a similar mindset to him.
“It’s hard, like always,” he said of Saturday’s game. “They’re a very competitive and very organised team. They’re fighting for the Play-Offs.
“I’m sure they’re going to arrive as though they’re playing a final because their target is fighting to play in the Play-Offs, so it’s probably their plan to beat us in our stadium.
“We need to start at the beginning, win the first tackle, and concentrate from the first second of the game.”
Last week the Cottage was rocking as Fulham saw off the challenge of MK Dons, and Jokanovic is hoping his team can give the fans – who haven’t had a great deal to cheer this season – more cause for celebration.
“[Cardiff] are going to arrive at our home and they need to know where they’re coming,” he said. “In the last [home] game, we had fantastic support from the stands, and all the crowd understood we were in difficulty without offering them something brilliant or many things to enjoy.
“They pushed us very hard to win the game against MK Dons. I expect it’s going to be something similar against Cardiff and at the same time I expect we can offer a still better performance and offer very similar levels of the desire and competitiveness which we offered last Saturday at home.”
