Slavisa Jokanovic reiterated that Fulham’s battle against relegation is far from over ahead of Tuesday night’s clash against Ipswich Town at Portman Road.
A run of three consecutive wins came to a crushing end at the hands Brighton & Hove Albion on Friday night, with the Whites falling to a humbling 5-0 defeat.
“It was a completely disappointing performance,” Jokanovic said. “We only competed for 30 minutes. We made many mistakes and with each one we paid an expensive price.
“Without causing us many problems and without pressing us that much we were down at half-time. We changed it up at the half but once again we were undone with another set-piece. It was very frustrating for all of us. After 50 or so minutes we were three goals down after three set-pieces.
“All of our plans were undone and we didn’t show enough desire, spirit and competitiveness to get back in the game. We surrendered in the last 30 minutes of the game and it’s quite simple, we cannot repeat that performance.”
The Whites were backed by more than 2,200 travelling fans and Jokanovic was bitterly disappointed that his side were unable to perform for them.
“We had the chance to play in front of more than 2,000 Fulham fans,” Jokanovic lamented. “We didn’t show enough character for them and we didn’t show our maximum on the field.
“I’ve lost football games in my career but to lose in the way in which we lost on Friday night is simply unacceptable. It’s important in the next games and next season to show the character to bounce back from a result like against Brighton.
“We need to improve ourselves over the final four games of the season. We need to finish this season in style and carry it through to next season.”
Fulham have the chance to bounce back from the defeat when they travel to take on Ipswich on Tuesday evening.
The Tractor Boys find themselves cut adrift from the Sky Bet Championship Play-Off places but Jokanovic is under no illusions about what sort of test will be awaiting his side.
“You know that any team under Mick McCarthy is going to be big and physical,” he stated. “They’ll be direct and have a very strong team and we have to be ready for a side that will push us.
“If we’re not ready for a physical battle then we’ll be under pressure. They’re not a team that pretends to surprise you. It’s very clear how they’ll approach the game so we need to be ready.
“The war isn’t over and we’re not safe. We’re still in trouble and we need to believe in ourselves.
We can’t be looking around seeing what’s going to happen. We need to win our games and if we can win on Tuesday we can press on to the weekend against Nottingham Forest. But for now, Tuesday is the battle and we need to be ready.”
