Scott Parker has urged his Fulham team to show energy and resilience as they battle for Premier League survival at Arsenal on Sunday.
The Cottagers sit firmly in the bottom three and are nine points behind 17th-placed Burnley following Newcastle’s 3-2 win over in-form West Ham on Saturday.
But Fulham get another chance to improve their survival chances when they visit London rivals Arsenal on Sunday, and Parker believes his young squad are up to the challenge.
“Young players give you that (energy), of course they do, that’s what I want from my players and my team,” the Fulham boss said.
Sunday 18th April 12:30pm
Kick off 1:30pm
“I want an energy, I want a resilience, an excitement to go and play football, go and showcase their quality and if they can do that and execute (that) then we can win a game.”
He added: “There’s tension there, there’s pressure there, but when you’re in the Premier League there’s pressure every week, you’re always in the spotlight.
“You’re always one bad result away individually as players, one mistake away from being highlighted, because of the stature of this division.
“But there is pressure there. What is always the difference between teams that are successful and players and top players is that they handle those pressures well.
“They can handle those pressures, they can still execute and play, they don’t let those pressures drown them, they don’t listen to the noise too much, they understand what it is and the processes that they need to follow and that’s what you often find in the best of the best.”
Given a third opportunity to move out of the bottom three for the first time since December, Fulham again fell short, slumping to their fourth successive defeat against Wolves last Friday.
“Certainly going away to Arsenal, we need to be organised, we need to be disciplined, we need to try and take the game to them,” Parker said.
“They’re in a very good vein (of form), good players, good quality all over the pitch so yeah a quick start and an aggressive start is one we need to try and take.”
