Hughes praises team effort

Fulham boss Mark Hughes was delighted his players showed hunger despite having little to play for in their 2-0 win over Birmingham City.

A brace from defender Brede Hangeland at St Andrew’s on Sunday helped Fulham move into eighth in the Premier League.

Hughes said he was pleased with the way his team came out, particularly with their spot in mid-table assured.

“I was pleased to get the reaction I got. I didn’t doubt the players,” he said.

“Today it was about showing we haven’t switched off for the end of the season.”

“We’ve got targets that we’ve set ourselves and we intend to reach them. We were fully focused and I think you could see that from the way we approached the game and thankfully we were able to get another away win which have been hard to come by.”

Hughes said his team could have guaranteed the points earlier than Hangeland’s 49th-minute goal.

“We had a number of chances. Maybe we felt there was too much time and space and we didn’t make the best of it and kill the game off early,” he said.

“I think everybody saw we are an accomplished team and we like to get the ball down and play the right way. When we get our noses in front, we are hard to beat.”

Fulham host Arsenal on the last day of the season and a win, along with other results falling their way, could see them finish as high as seventh.

Birmingham City manager Alex McLeish said his relegation-threatened team would travel to Tottenham aiming to win.

“We know the consequences of going out of it (the Premier League), but it is what it is and we’ve still got one game to go,” he told Sky Sports.

“We’ll go to White Hart Lane to win.”

McLeish said Fulham had attacking options he wished his team had.

“They’re a good side. They’ve got six or seven forward players who we’re very envious of,” he said.

“It was always, on paper, a very hard game for us and I was a little bit concerned about it because I know the quality of that team.”