Fulham boss Scott Parker was brimming with confidence the Cottagers had it in them to avoid relegation from the Premier League after a Josh Maja brace gave them a lifeline 2-0 win at Everton on Sunday.
Nigerian striker Maja tucked in a pair of clinical goals to revive 18th-placed Fulham’s hopes of avoiding the drop as they moved within seven points of safety, ending a run of 12 league games without a win.
Asked if Fulham could pull off a great escape, Parker said: “Hopefully. That is how we go about our work, we have been drawing too many games and we need to be winning them. We now go into two massive games (against Burnley away and Sheffield United at home) and onto the rest of the season.
“I have got full belief in this team, I honestly have. People judge performances on wins and losses, I have a different view because I see it every day and have to be more rational looking at my team. It gives me constant belief.
“I know what we need to do and the players do too. We can’t control what is around us, we just need to go out and win football matches. If we do that I know it will be OK.”
Everton manager Carlo Ancelotti conceded his side were outplayed and fortunate not to lose by a bigger margin as Fulham missed a string of chances in the first half.
“The game was not good, we had problems everywhere, they put a lot of pressure on our defenders and we were not able to build up properly,” the Italian told BT Sport.
“We were affected on the physical aspect because they played with a lot of intensity and we were not able to manage this. We don’t have to lose confidence, we have to improve on our mistakes from tonight, be better physically on Wednesday (against leaders Manchester City).”
