Sander Berge says Fulham have to ‘be brave and believe’ that they can record a first-ever league double over Chelsea when the local rivals meet in Sunday’s SW6 derby at Craven Cottage.

The Norwegian midfielder wants the Whites to put things right after Monday’s narrow defeat at AFC Bournemouth that saw the Cherries leapfrog Marco Silva’s side and move into eighth in the Premier League table – which looks likely to be a Conference League qualifying position.

Berge told Fulham’s official website that the players knew just how important three points would be this weekend:

“They’re definitely huge, but they are in every game. We had a chance [at Bournemouth] that we didn’t take, but it’s about going again. Three huge points, we’re up for the fight. It will be a tough one, there’s always something extra there when it’s a derby like that, you want to do it for the fans a little bit more than usual, definitely. Derbies are always special, and we know how much it means for all the fan base.

We [should] focus on ourselves, be confident in who we are, be brave and believe, and hopefully we finish the game with three points, and then head to the next one. It’s a tough game. They have so much talent, they’ve shown that the whole season. So much quality, but we mainly focus on ourselves. Obviously we figure out and work on their weaknesses and strengths during the week and where we can hurt them, but we have to be at our best to get three points against them, and we need a top performance from ourselves.”

Berge believes that Fulham are still in the hunt for European qualification despite Monday night’s frustration on the south coast.

“That’s obviously been our aim for a while. With how we’ve progressed and performed all season, we’ve put ourselves in a good position. Now we have to do our talking on the pitch, and put everything there for the last six finals, and then we’ll see where we are when it’s all done.”