TEAM EFFORT

Fulham goalkeeper David Stockdale has said that only a team effort can help Fulham prevent relegation from the Premier league this season. After spending several years in the top flight, the club are in danger of relegation into the Championship.

The poor form throughout the season has culminated in the sacking of manager Martin Jol, but the results have not improved even after the appointment of former Manchester United coach Rene Meulensteen. The club, though, finally managed to break the run of poor form with a 2-1 win over West Ham on Saturday.

The win brought much-needed relief to everyone at the club, as it also helped them stay in touch with other teams fighting against relegation. There is still a lot of work to be done at Craven cottage in order to get the club out of trouble, and Stockdale reckons that it has to be a team effort. The red card to Kevin Nolan certainly helped in Fulham’s case, as they came from behind to win the match. Sidwell opened the scoring for Fulham before Dimitar Berbatov secured the win. The Bulgarian striker is expected to score most of the goals for the club in the coming campaign, but he has been disappointing so far.

“I wouldn’t say my save was pivotal. I’d say the second goal was pivotal as it won us the game. I’m just doing my job and, if I can keep the lads in the game, then so be it. It’s not until afterwards that you think about it; at the time you just want the three points. We’re in a relegation battle and we won’t get out of it by sitting back and looking at individual performances – we have to play as a team,” said the goalkeeper to the club’s official site.