Assistant pleads for more Hughes time

Fulham assistant manager Mark Bowen has pleaded with the club’s fans to give current manager Mark Hughes more time.

After a successful 2009/10 season that included the club reaching the Europa League final under former manager Roy Hodgson, Fulham have failed to meet expectations this campaign.

Hughes – who took over in July – has guided his side to just two English Premier League wins, with a 3-1 home defeat to lowly West Ham on Boxing Day (December 26) seeing Fulham slump into the relegation zone.

Hughes was the subject of several songs as the Craven Cottage faithful vented their disgust at the club’s plight, with the west London club’s winless streak now extending to eight matches.

When asked if the club’s fans were too quick to criticise Hughes, Bowen said: “I’m bound to say yes because I’m at the sharp end of the stick.”

Bowen also pointed to the club’s impressive defensive record in support of the manager.

“Before yesterday’s game, we were joint fifth in goals conceded in the Premier League,” he said.

“It was a bad day (on Sunday) and we accept that. More to the point, our problem has been trying to put the ball in at the other end.”

Fulham’s front-line has been ravaged by injury, with star striker Bobby Zamora breaking his leg in September and unavailable for much of the season.

American Clint Dempsey – who has five Premier League goals this season – has become Fulham’s key man up front, and Hughes was derided with chants of ‘You don’t know what you’re doing’ when the attacker was substituted early in the second half against West Ham.

But Bowen defended Hughes, saying Dempsey was substituted due to injury and that the absence of Zamora has made Hughes’ job even more difficult.

“When we walked in at half-time, Clint Dempsey had got a dead leg,” Bowen said.

“He came in at half-time, he iced it through the whole of half-time and he wasn’t right.”

“We looked in the first 10 minutes of the second half and he was holding it a bit and he wasn’t moving well on it.”

“Bobby Zamora missed 12 games last year for Fulham and, in those 12 games, Fulham won two.”

Fulham have a chance to post a much-needed win when they travel to Stoke City on Tuesday.