Jol calls for ´positive´ Fulham reaction

Fulham manager Martin Jol wants his side to avenge their “disastrous” loss against Southampton when they face Manchester United on Saturday.

Jol’s men were beaten 2-0 at St Mary’s Stadium in the Premier League on Saturday before being knocked out of the League Cup by Championship side Leicester City on Tuesday.

Fulham face the champions at Craven Cottage on Saturday and Jol has urged his charges to approach the game in a positive manner, stating that a good result could go a long way to banishing memories of Saturday’s defeat.

“We always want to take initiative – of course we can’t control the game for 90 minutes but we will try to do something about the disastrous game of last week,” Jol said.

“We’ve got one or two players in who didn’t play before and I hope they will show us confidence because that is what we need. We need confidence to show our quality.

“I think if you look at the Crystal Palace game, that was positive and then, with the same team, we had a disastrous game against Southampton. They were the better team, they pressurised us all over and they won 2-0.

“(Saturday is) a big game for us and if we can manage to have a good result, the world will look different.”

The hosts will have their work cut out, however, with United unbeaten in their last 11 Premier League games in London.

Fulham have won two of their last three top-flight matches, leaving them in 14th, and are without captain Brede Hangeland and striker Hugo Rodallega for United’s visit.

However, Jol feels Fulham are capable of getting a result against David Moyes’ side.

“We’ve got a few injuries but we’ve got a good enough team to come up with a result and at least stay in the league and get the results to get in a good position,” he said.

“We are not bottom of the league – I think one or two results again, like at Crystal Palace which was a great result, then we will be back in business.

“It’s the same all over in the Premier League; if you don’t get the results, people will be critical and my boys will know that we have to come up for the fans – for them and for me as well – so they will give 100 per cent.”