Johnny P On The H/T Changes & Aiming For Europe

[White Noise]

Right Direction


Thursday 3rd February 2011




John Pantsil was in positive and optimistic mood on Wednesday evening after Fulham recorded a fifth consecutive home win to climb to 12th in the table.

After a scrappy first-half, the Whites improved markedly in the second-half, causing Newcastle problems that they struggled to deal with, and Damien Duff was the happy beneficiary as he slammed in the only goal of the game after an exquisite through-pass from Danny Murphy.

"I think Newcastle know how we play, because they didn't want to let us do our thing, and were putting pressure on us. That made it difficult for us in the beginning. We couldn't keep the ball, no matter where we tried to pass it to, and in the end we were kicking it in the air which their centre-backs were enjoying," reflected Pantsil on a testing first 45 minutes.

"But in the second-half we changed things around and focused on keeping the ball on the grass. We played so well and got the goal we deserved."

After the relative ease with which the Whites disposed of high-flying Tottenham in the FA Cup Fourth Round just a few days earlier, there was a sense of frustration at times that a Newcastle side that seemed to offer less of a threat were proving harder to overcome, but Fulham's right-back explained that although less spectacular, the outcome on Wednesday was perhaps more pleasing.

"The league is so important and even though the result on Sunday was great, there was a part of us that wished it had come in the League," he explained. "So we're happy that today we got the three points because that really matters to us."

The match was also notable for the return of Mark Schwarzer to the Fulham goal, and the lively debut of young forward Gael Kakuta.

"It's good to have him back," said John of his big Australian goalkeeper. "Of course David Stockdale did well when Mark was away, so we feel for him. But David is a very good professional so we have faith that he will keep his head straight and concentrate on his career. Every time he gets a chance he does great work for the good of the team. He's a good lad and I'm sure very soon he'll get his chance again.

And as for Kakuta: "He's now a part of this team, so he deserves the chance to come in and establish himself, and tonight he showed what he can do. He came in and did so well. He didn't disappoint anybody so it was a good introduction to the team and we're all happy with him."

The result moved the Whites to within just six points of the top seven, a league position which could result in European qualification. And although nobody is getting carried away just yet in a season in which the league table is so tight, the optimistic 29-year-old certainly sees no reason why he and his team-mates can't achieve such an outcome if they can keep their recent good form going.

"At the moment we all know what we would like to achieve come the end of the season," he said. "We played in Europe last season and we all know how exciting it is, so although there's still a long way to go, we're focused on getting a lot of wins on the board and who knows, maybe European games will be possible again, because the gap between where we are and the top seven isn't that big if we keep going the way we are."

Next up for the Whites is a trip to Villa Park on Saturday|, and with the current good momentum in the team, Pantsil is confident that another positive result is possible.

"If we really want to finish in the top seven again then we really need to start taking away points as well as our home games," he said. "Of course, home games are the more important, but away games are something that we need to start winning if we are to take our points tally as high as we want it to be."


Read more: http://www.fulhamfc.com/Club/News/NewsArticles/2011/February/PantsilNewcastleReaction.aspx#ixzz1Ctia9FAm

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All together now...

"John Pantsil my lord, John Pantsil..."