A reversal of fortunes is at the front of Slavisa Jokanovic’s mind ahead of Saturday’s meeting with Bristol City at the Cottage.
Tammy Abraham struck in the 90th minute to earn the Robins an EFL Cup victory over Fulham on Wednesday, and when asked if he’s out for revenge at the weekend, Jokanovic replied: “Yes. We have to be proud.
“We didn’t mark our territory on our field and it’s another chance in front of us. We didn’t score the goal when we created chances, they did.
“We wanted to progress in the competition but now we are out. Now another chance is in front of us, and we have to try and improve. We have to be proud and we have to mark our territory.
“The best therapy is to play the next game and in our hands is the possibility and opportunity to fix some of the problems which we found in the cup game. I believe we are ready.
“We expect this is going to be a different game. We expect we’re going to find a different result, and we’re ready to fight for three points.”
Despite picking up only two points from our last three Sky Bet Championship matches, the Whites still sit just one point outside the Play-Off spots, not that Jokanovic is paying much attention to the standings this early.
“I am not looking at the table in the third week in September,” he stated. “I don’t believe you can be a relegated or promoted team on this date.
“I’m focused, and the only thing I’m interested in, is to be ready for the fight and try to find a solution to win the game that is in front of us. We are going to start thinking about the table in some months that are in front of us now.
“It’s normal that we want to be at the top, but if someone is at the top or the bottom of the league in this moment, it’s not definitely where they’ll be at the end of the season.
“In front of us are 114 points to fight for, in front of us is a chance to fight for three points immediately, and this is my objective. I don’t observe the table so much in this moment.”
So far in 2016/17, the Fulham backline has proven a tough nut to crack, with only Brentford conceding fewer than our six goals.
And while Jokanovic’s men may have only scored two more at the other end, he’s confident their numbers will improve if they keep faith with their philosophies.
“The glass is half empty or it’s half full, depending on how you want to observe the situation,” he explained. “I believe my team has made many important things in the start of this stage.
“We conceded less goals compared to what we conceded in the past. We have a style of how we want to play football. We’re missing some goals but we believe if we follow our way we are going to create the chances and we are going to score goals in the next games.”
