Slavisa Jokanovic believes fans will witness two footballing sides at Craven Cottage on Saturday when Fulham play host to Reading.
Dutchman Jaap Stam has got the Royals playing some fluid football this season, and to devastating effect of late – they go into the weekend’s fixture having won their previous five Sky Bet Championship outings.
“In some ways, we are a similar team,” Jokanovic stated. “We want to play with the ball and so do they. I believe we are a better team with the ball than without it, and the same goes for them.
“They are a team that play very good football and look to control the game, and we are going to try and put them in a situation where they don’t get an opportunity to dictate the play.
“They have been playing very well. They’ve won their last five games but we are confident in ourselves, and nobody has outplayed us in recent games. We are confident we can show a good performance and win.”
The Whites put in an impressive performance at promotion hopefuls Brighton & Hove Albion last time out without taking anything from the game, but that defeat has not left Jokanovic too downhearted.
“We are naturally disappointed after the last result but at the same time we are confident that this spell is behind us,” he explained. “We keep improving and at the end of the day we understand we need to be better to get victories.
“Our ambition is the same and we need to believe in ourselves and push harder in order to win our next game.
“We conceded two goals from crosses against Brighton and this week we’ve been trying to fix that situation. We’ve been trying to find solutions to improve immediately.
“We need to mark our territory at Craven Cottage. We need to be more aggressive and put our opponents under pressure in order to give them problems. We need to push harder and be brave.
“We also need to avoid making unnecessary mistakes and be more clinical in the opposition’s box. We are a new team and are still trying to find our way.”
Denis Odoi is the only absentee for Fulham after he picked up a fifth yellow card of the season at the Amex Stadium, but Jokanovic will have Scott Parker available again after the Captain served a similar suspension.
“Scott Parker is a very important player and is something of a coach despite the fact he’s still playing,” he stated. “I believe that myself, my staff and his teammates have the fantastic benefit of working with him.
“I try and use his experience. He’s a real man, a father of four, and I enjoy a very good relationship with him. It is a pleasure to be able to have the chance to work with him.”
