In ten days time, Fulham's likely starting XI in the Europa League final will include up to 10 of the players we faced last January. Meanwhile, the Atletico Madrid side will be singularly lacking in any experience of the away dressing room at Rockingham Road, and it's no secret that Roy Hodgson is looking to capitalise on that.
"When it comes to keeping your shape and discipline in the most testing and unfamiliar of conditions, that game at Kettering taught us a great deal" said the Fulham boss. "Shakhtar Donetsk thought they could unsettle us with cramped changing facilities and unintelligible tannoy announcements, but we remembered how we coped with the lads having to wait their turn to have a scrub after not understanding a word of the local lingo, and took strength from that".
"And when we were under the cosh against Juve after the first leg, I reminded the players that they had no one who passed the ball as well as the boy Boucard, or could bombard us with huge throw ins."
"Finally, the 19 hour bus trip to Hamburg was nothing compared to negotiating the one way system in Kettering town centre having left the A14 a junction early thanks to a dozy coach driver".
"So providing the referee in the final does us a few favours like at Kettering, I strongly fancy our chances".
No comments:
Post a Comment