Ex-Fulham midfielder Michael Brown believes the club might have to settle for the play-offs this season.

As it has been all season, West Brom and Leeds are the two teams running away in the Championship, and those two look set for automatic promotion to the Premier League.

Fulham meanwhile have been 3rd near enough all season as well, and as Leeds begin to pull away from Fulham once again, a spot in the play-offs looks like the best that Scott Parker can achieve this season.

Michael Brown, speaking exclusively to 888sport, said:

“They’re in the mix but it will be so tight with West Brom and Leeds. The top of that league is incredible isn’t it; the top eight. It’s there for them.

"They have the fire-power to win games all the way until the end of the season but can they catch West Brom and Leeds at this stage? That might be difficult.” 

Fulham managed to close what was an 11-point gap to Leeds with some solid form through the New Year, but now the cracks look to reappearing for Fulham, and they've been scraping through games of late.

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The 1-0 win over Swansea in midweek was a prime example of how Fulham have had to rely on late goals from Aleksandar Mitrovic to get the three points, but whether they have the team mentality to go all the way through the play-offs remains unseen.

For what is his maiden season in first-team management, criticism of Parker this season has often been brash. He's under immense pressure to oversee an immediate return to the Premier League, but the club did it via the play-offs in 2018, and they could well do it again in 2020.

Read the full 888sport interview with Michael Brown to get his thoughts on Fulham’s chances of a return to the Premier League