Parker: Fulham game plan worked perfectly
Scott Parker said his Fulham side executed his plans superbly against Middlesbrough, despite another nervy finish to a narrow Championship win.
The Whites reduced the gap between themselves and the automatic promotion spots to four points, courtesy of Anthony Knockaert’s goal in a second consecutive 1-0 victory.
But it was his players’ energy as well as their resolve to see out the match that Parker was most impressed with.
“In the first half, I thought we were fantastic in the way we played, the way we moved the ball,” he said.
“Everything that we worked on in the week worked well, with Bobby dropping down as a bit of a false-nine overloading them in the middle of the park. We were dynamic in the first half with lovely bits of play. I don’t think they had a shot on target.
“I thought in the second half we had some big, big chances to put the game to bed. Obviously, it gets a bit edgy, but we saw the game out well. Another clean sheet, which was key, and another good performance all round for us.
“You see two sides of this team, which pleases me the most. You see in the first half a team which moves the ball well, which is dynamic, and in the second half, you see a grittiness about us that can see a game out.”
Fulham made it five wins from five matches under the Friday night lights this season – a trend that Parker values, but only so much, as second-placed Leeds travel to west London to face QPR and leaders West Brom host Stoke on Saturday.
He added: “Playing before the teams above you that you’re trying to chase, you put that pressure on.
“The main thing for us is to focus on ourselves and keep working out with this team what gets you results in this league. And what gets you results is an endeavour, a work ethic, and we’ve shown that in the last few weeks.
“At times this year, we’ve been in a good position and we’ve slipped up and hit little bumps. We now need to concentrate on ourselves, keep winning games, and ultimately keep producing what we produced tonight.”
