Stefan Johansen wants Fulham to ramp up the pressure on Cardiff City as their bid for promotion from the Championship enters the final straight.
The Norwegian midfielder believes that Neil Warnock’s side have it all to lose going into the final weeks of the season, sitting seven points ahead of Fulham in the second automatic promotion spot. He strongly disagrees with Warnock, who tried to suggest that the weight of expectation was with Aston Villa and Fulham ahead of the latest round of fixtures. Johansen has urged his team mates to continue their unbeaten run against Leeds United at Craven Cottage on Tuesday night and throw down the gauntlet to the Bluebirds.
He told Fulham’s official website:
It doesn’t matter where we go, if it’s home or away, we’re going to go out and try to win the rest of the games and put pressure on Cardiff, who we know have a tough run now. We will see how they deal with the pressure, and we’ll make sure we keep putting pressure on them.
We’re going to go out there on Tuesday and try to get another three points. That’s what matters at this stage of the season. As I said, we’re going to push hard to put pressure on Cardiff and see what they are all about. If they make it, they’ll have deserved it. If not, we’re going to keep pushing and make sure we get into the Premier League.
Johansen was delighted to break the deadlock at Carrow Road on Friday as the Whites eventually saw off a spirited challenge from Norwich City to get back to winning ways after a disappointing draw in the west London derby against QPR before the international break.
It was important to get the first goal, It was a tight game all round so we knew we needed to break through and get the first one. They were quite tight defensively so it was hard to create a lot of chances but we knew we’d manage it so it was just about taking them.
The former Celtic midfielder enjoyed entertaining the 2,000 Fulham fans who made the trip to East Anglia on Friday – indulging in some mock celebrations in front of the travelling support long before the final whistle.
We had a lot of supporters there which is good because it’s always important to have fans in decent numbers. It always helps the team, and it’s just nice to give something back to them.
