Fulham goalkeeper David Button said he and his teammates need to "stand up to" teams more after their 2-1 defeat against Aston Villa at Villa Park on Saturday, according to Get West London. 

The Whites' inconsistent season so far sees them sit in 11th place and Button feels that he has identified where they need to improve, especially away from home.

He said: "We need to understand when we come away from home teams will be strong and physical against us and we need to stand up to it.

"Based on chances, we probably should've drawn, but it comes down to being strong in both boxes. I think we had a couple of good chances which we didn't take and they got a set piece and goal that was avoidable.

"We know we'll be fine on the ball because we have the quality but we need to make sure we're harder to beat.

"The conditions were hard with the wind but I felt we [passed] it out okay (from the back) and our better chances came when we did it well. Looking back we could've done better in the first half but it was certainly tricky with their press.

"It's frustrating, it's a good feeling when you make the saves but we need to get something from the game. When you lose it makes everything not as important but we're still close to the top six and top two and we'll keep on going."

The Verdict

There is a perception in this country that passing teams have a soft centre. There is no reason why that should be the case but Fulham have to be prepared for the fact that if they want to pop the ball around, they are going to need to be ready for physical opponents, pressing football and aerial challenges.

There is little doubt that they could do this better but the impact of being without talismanic captain Tom Cairney should not be underestimated - they will be a different team when he returns to the fold.

Fulham fans - do you agree with Button's assessment? Let us know in the comments below...

 

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