Recently-relegated side Fulham have enjoyed a reasonably successful start to the 2021/22 campaign, climbing into the automatic promotion spots recently in what looks set to be a very competitive campaign in the top half of the Championship table.
Rivals AFC Bournemouth are currently the team to beat having won 10 and drawn four of their opening 14 second-tier games, going unbeaten during that period with their 6-0 defeat against Norwich City in the Carabao Cup back at the end of August being their only competitive loss of the season so far.
They could have easily crumbled after that hammering, but secured a 0-0 draw away at Hull City to stabilise themselves before the first international break before coming out strong after that interval.
Fulham have a slightly less impressive record, having lost 2-1 at home to Reading and 4-1 away to Coventry City, but have managed to avoid frustrating draws for the most part and climbed into second place after West Bromwich Albion's defeat against Swansea City in midweek.
Three frustrating, consecutive draws for the Baggies against the likes of Millwall, Derby County and Preston North End last month, with all three arguably being winnable games on paper, has proved to be costly at this stage for Valerien Ismael's men as the Cottagers currently sit one point above the West Midlands outfit.
Marco Silva's men have key forward Aleksandar Mitrovic to thank for this achievement after seeing the 27-year-old score an exceptional 15 goals in 14 league games so far this season.
Tom Cairney has been slightly less complimentary about the Serbian international though!
Identifying a player who's not the brightest member of the Cottagers' squad, the midfielder jokingly said on the Sky Sports EFL Podcast: 'I'm going to say Aleksandar Mitrovic because he heads the ball too much! I think he's gone a bit punch-drunk. He knows where the goal is anyway."
The Verdict:
Not many people would make such an insult about someone of Mitrovic's 6'2 stature, so you have to commend Cairney's bravery for making that comment.
That's for the midfielder to deal to feel the effects of his comments in the dressing room though - because everyone else will continue to enjoy his performances!
Scoring 15 times already in just 14 league goals is a remarkable total and he could easily beat Ivan Toney's total of 31 if he can continue at a similar rate - and with both the service he has at his disposal and his finishing prowess - there's no reason why he can't.
Keeping him fit will be key though with the forward often going away with Serbia on international duty, because his availability could be the difference between staying in an automatic promotion spot and being displaced by West Brom.
Speaking of his home nation, you also have to commend him for being bilingual, something many people across the world are unable to master. Perhaps it's time for Mitrovic to test Cairney's Serbian language skills on camera as sweet revenge for these comments.