FULHAM PRAY TO FOOTBALLING GODS
Roy Hodgson is concerned that last Saturday’s wild celebrations, after Fulham’s victory over fellow strugglers Birmingham at Craven Cottage, were premature and could come back to haunt them. Indeed the manager believes that those jubilant scenes have heaped even more pressure on his players to perform in their final game against Portsmouth tomorrow.
That 2-0 win moved Hodgson’s side out of the bottom three – where they had been since Boxing Day – for the first time in his four months at the club, sparking a lap of honour led by Hodgson and 79-year-old chairman Mohammed Al-Fayed to the delight of the fans.
The 60-year-old knows, however, that they are not out of the woods yet, and defeat to the FA Cup finalists at Fratton Park could yet condemn them to relegation to the Championship.
“The reception we got from our fans after we beat Birmingham was fantastic,” he said. “If anything it worried me because I don't think we deserved it. We can still slip into the Championship – there's still a big risk of that happening.
"That reception is probably the biggest pressure that has been put upon us because we realised, if we hadn't already, that it was so important to people.”
Hodgson is confident that his team, having won three of their last four games and recorded their first away in 18 months against Reading, will have the momentum to defeat Harry Redknapp’s side.
“If we can beat Reading, Manchester City, Birmingham and Derby, we can go and win at Portsmouth,” he continued. “But I don't think we're favourites to win and we are very much aware that Portsmouth are a very good team with some very good players.
“We've been dead and buried. We were in a dire situation and we have been a very difficult situation for a long time. But it's nice now to have a chance to still be fighting in the final game. All of a sudden we've had a reprieve and if we win our last game maybe we won't be relegated.
“We'll be devastated if we lose. All of us here have wanted to keep Fulham in the Premier League. It's been our dream. We have to do our best and hope the football gods smile upon us.”
If Fulham do survive the drop, there will be no sipping of champagne from Hodgson, however. He added: "If we were to win and stay in the league, there would be such satisfaction for me that I would quite happily go home and have a glass of water and read my book."
Roy Hodgson is concerned that last Saturday’s wild celebrations, after Fulham’s victory over fellow strugglers Birmingham at Craven Cottage, were premature and could come back to haunt them. Indeed the manager believes that those jubilant scenes have heaped even more pressure on his players to perform in their final game against Portsmouth tomorrow.
That 2-0 win moved Hodgson’s side out of the bottom three – where they had been since Boxing Day – for the first time in his four months at the club, sparking a lap of honour led by Hodgson and 79-year-old chairman Mohammed Al-Fayed to the delight of the fans.
The 60-year-old knows, however, that they are not out of the woods yet, and defeat to the FA Cup finalists at Fratton Park could yet condemn them to relegation to the Championship.
“The reception we got from our fans after we beat Birmingham was fantastic,” he said. “If anything it worried me because I don't think we deserved it. We can still slip into the Championship – there's still a big risk of that happening.
"That reception is probably the biggest pressure that has been put upon us because we realised, if we hadn't already, that it was so important to people.”
Hodgson is confident that his team, having won three of their last four games and recorded their first away in 18 months against Reading, will have the momentum to defeat Harry Redknapp’s side.
“If we can beat Reading, Manchester City, Birmingham and Derby, we can go and win at Portsmouth,” he continued. “But I don't think we're favourites to win and we are very much aware that Portsmouth are a very good team with some very good players.
“We've been dead and buried. We were in a dire situation and we have been a very difficult situation for a long time. But it's nice now to have a chance to still be fighting in the final game. All of a sudden we've had a reprieve and if we win our last game maybe we won't be relegated.
“We'll be devastated if we lose. All of us here have wanted to keep Fulham in the Premier League. It's been our dream. We have to do our best and hope the football gods smile upon us.”
If Fulham do survive the drop, there will be no sipping of champagne from Hodgson, however. He added: "If we were to win and stay in the league, there would be such satisfaction for me that I would quite happily go home and have a glass of water and read my book."
Labels: Fulham, Portsmouth, Premier League, Roy Hodgson
