Fulham boss backs Button after error at Villa

Fulham boss Slavisa Jokanovic defended David Button after the error that cost his side at Aston Villa.

The former Brentford goalkeeper presented a clearance to Albert Adomah, who crossed for Jonathan Kodjia to net the winning goal 10 minutes from time.

Jokanovic has been critical of his side for mistakes made throughout this season – the Whites have twice conceded two penalties in a game – but did not blame Button, who was put under pressure by numerous back-passes during the game.

He said: “We’ve made many presents [this season] – we made one today, one big mistake and paid a very expensive price.

“I encourage my team to play with the keeper but today sometimes it was unnecessary – we had better choices.

“I don’t blame my keeper. I want my keeper to try and play. If I obligate him to do something like this it’s possible he can make some kind of mistake.”

Jokanovic also said he side lacked a creative spark, accusing his players of not playing with “personality”.

“We had possession of the ball but we didn’t create enough chances,” he added.

“We played very well in the first 45 minutes but Aston Villa had a good distance between lines, and we didn’t try and play behind them.

“In the second half we tried to fix the problem but Villa pressed us without the ball and used their muscle.

“We showed less ambition, started to play long balls and we lost all the challenges. We didn’t play with enough personality and paid a very expensive price.”