Slavisa Jokanovic knows the importance of Monday’s trip to Huddersfield Town, but reiterated that it will not define Fulham’s season.
The Terriers currently sit bottom of the Premier League going into the televised encounter, while we sit two points and places above them.
And when it was put to him that the fixture can already be described as a six-pointer, Jokanovic agreed.
“Yeah it’s true,” he said in Friday’s pre-match press conference. “It’s obviously a really important game for us, a really important game for Huddersfield too.
“It’s an early six-pointer at the beginning of November. [But] after the game, everything isn’t going to be done for either of these two teams.
“Some teams are satisfied with the start of the Premier League, but the situation can change quickly.
“There are some teams a few points in front of us, and we are fighting to be competitive and catch them, and put them under some pressure.”
Our Head Coach has switched up his defence on several occasions this season, and when asked if he’s close to finding his preferred backline, he replied: “Yes I am close but I change for different reasons.
“We’ve had suspensions, some injured players, some players we needed to test during the competition. Step by step we’ve tried to be a little bit more compact and find the best option for us at the back.
“The last game we played yesterday night [versus Manchester City] we tried to make an analysis and observe if this team is our best option for the next steps.
“I chose what I thought was the best option to win the game. In football, the process is never finished, and other players are going to have the opportunity to push hard and fight for a space in the team.
“I want to encourage my players to not wait for the opportunity. It’s a long season and these people are going to have an opportunity in the future.
“I want to encourage them to fight to force the situation and show me, ‘Gaffer, I am your best choice.’ This is what I expect. I want to create some competition between them, and for them to be hurt when they’re not in the starting 11.”
