Scott Parker has admitted that Saturday night’s clash with relegation rivals Sheffield United is a must-win for Fulham – but is taking nothing for granted ahead of the Craven Cottage meeting.
Fulham won their third league game of the season with an impressive away display at Everton last week and earned a point against Burnley in midweek, but Parker knows only victories will help his side away from the drop zone. He knows exactly what to expect from the Blades, who have had their own mini-revival of late – winning three of their last seven league matches.
Parker told his pre-match press conference earlier this afternoon:
“A tough game, a real tough game. They’ve got a manager with vast experience who’s done an exceptional job at Sheffield United. I think we both realise what’s at stake and the battle that’s going to bring. My team will be prepared as best they can to try and get the points.”
The Fulham boss feels that morale is high within the camp as the Whites face what looks like a crucial run of fixtures.
“Confidence is very high, and that’s been the case for large parts of this season. Certainly our performance levels over the past three or four months have shown that. It’s a big game for us at the weekend, and we understand that, we know what’s at stake and we know what we need to do. Of course, performance probably comes a little bit secondary at this moment. We want a result, and that’s our main aim on Saturday.”
“Both teams are going to want to do all they can to win the game. There are 14 games left and of course we go into this one, after picking up four points in what was always going to be a tough week, and it will be another tough game with Sheffield United. I’ve said for a while now that we go into every game wanting to win it, and it will be the same on Saturday.”
Parker voiced his displeasure at the reports linking Fulham defender Terence Kongolo, who featured for the club’s under 23 side this afternoon against Sunderland, with a breach of lockdown rules when he celebrated his birthday with friends last weekend.
“I think like anything you can imagine my reaction to it was not best pleased in the current climate in terms of what everyone is facing and what we’re in. It’s not something which is acceptable to be honest with you. I had the conversation with Terence, he didn’t know a lot about it, (that) is my understanding of it, it was a surprise party and the people who planned it have put him in a very vulnerable position. It’s something which we will deal with as a football club in-house.”
