FA CUP FIFTH ROUND REPLAY
Fulham manager Chris Coleman has called for his players to lose the complacent streak that is threatening to undermine their season. The Cottagers have a UEFA Cup spot within their sights, via the league, and if they beat West Ham tonight would also progress to the quarter finals of the FA Cup.
However, their recent dip in form means that the outcome of this tie is no foregone conclusion, and Coleman wants his side to rediscover the form they showed earlier in the campaign. "We are at a critical stage of the season," he said. "A little bit of complacency has set in and we need to get back to what we were doing when we were winning matches.
"We are not realistically going to be relegated from the Premiership. Liverpool and Newcastle United are chasing the fourth Champions League place, but we have got a great chance of finishing in the top six, although the top eight is more realistic.
"We also want to get as far as we can in the cup, but we won't do that if we continue to perform the way we have been because we have been below par for the last two or three matches."
If Fulham are going to turn the corner they will have to do so without inspirational midfielder, Lee Clark, who has failed to recover from his Achilles injury. Facundo Sava is suffering with a calf problem, Jerome Bossinnel has an ankle injury and Ian Pearce is cup-tied.
However, Zat Knight is okay after receiving a bang to his foot during their disappointing 2-1 defeat at Wolves over the weekend and Alain Goma comes into the reckoning despite his hamstring problems. Nevertheless a team in ninth place in the top flight should have too much for West Ham, but Coleman is refusing to admit they are favourites.
"We like to go into matches as underdogs and we normally play better that way, pulling something out of the hat," he added. "And I believe we might be underdogs against West Ham. If you look at their form and the fact they will be at home, then perhaps they are favourites."
Thomas Repka is a doubt for Alan Pardew's men - who produced a solid performance in the 0-0 draw at Loftus Road ten days ago. Pardew has added six more players to his squad but he is without Adam Nowland, Jobi McAnuff, Andy Melville, Jon Harley, Pavel Srnicek, Bobby Zamora and Nigel Reo-Coker because all his new boys are cup tied.
But whilst he has to shuffle his pack, he still believes that the team he puts out is capable of booking a trip to Old Trafford in the next round - so repaying the faith of the long-suffering West Ham fans.
Pardew, who expects 9,000 to travel to Manchester if his side can beat Fulham, said: "It would be nice to go to Old Trafford in my first season in charge here. We'd certainly take a big allocation there, about 9,000. That's a great incentive for us to win it for them.
"But first things first, we've got a challenge against Fulham and we're excited. We're looking forward to the replay and we think it's an even tie. I was proud of our performance at Loftus Road and the players should be too. I hope they make us proud again."
