Stuart Gray praised Cauley Woodrow after the young striker replaced Moussa Dembele and scored twice in Fulham’s 4-1 win against Rotherham.
Dembele was not in the squad, having pulled up in training ahead of the match at Craven Cottage.
Gray, who oversaw the victory in his final game as caretaker boss, said: “It’s only a minor thing.
“He tried to train yesterday but felt it tighten up so it was best not to risk it.
“But one man’s loss is another man’s gain and Cauley Woodrow has come in with an excellent performance and two great goals.”
Gray insists he is looking forward to working with Fulham’s new head coach Slavisa Jokanovic, who watched the game from the stands.
Gray, who was interviewed for the head coach role but will now revert to being part of Jokanovic’s coaching staff, said: “I’m looking forward to it.
“I’m sure I’ll learn off him and hopefully he will learn off me. He got Watford promoted so he knows about the Championship. Obviously I’ll pass on my knowledge and experience of the league as well.
“I’ve only met him briefly. He met the players about an hour before kick-off and I had a few minutes with him. But we’ll sit down tomorrow and have a chat.
“I’m sure any new manager in the stands will have an affect but you cannot fault the effort they’ve put in in training since I’ve been here.
“The boys have shown tonight how hard they’ve worked. We’ve lacked a little bit of self-belief at times but they showed it tonight.”
This post was last modified on 02/01/2016