Fulham boss will relish derby clash

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Fulham manager Kit Symons says he cannot wait for Friday night’s derby clash at Brentford.

The two west London rivals will meet for the first time in the league since 1998 – a game Fulham won 2-0 in League One during their rise up the divisions under Mohamed Al-Fayed’s ownership.

Brentford now sit higher than Fulham after a superb start to life in the Championship – 11 places and eight points above them in the table.

But Symons said: “We can match them – this is a derby.

“The progress Brentford have made has been exceptional and they’ve surprised me. They’re a club going in the right direction but then so are we.

“I love derbies. We know how important this is to the fans and that will be a big part of our team talk – making sure the players know that. I’ve spoken to the players about it and Scott Parker especially.

“My players will know it’s another three points but that there are bragging rights involved as well.”

Symons confirmed that Fernando Amorebieta, Tim Hoogland and Sean Kavanagh are still sidelined through injury but the rest of his squad are fit for the visit to Griffin Park.

And the Whites boss said: “It’ll be a good game because both teams will try to play – that’s my philosophy home and away.

“We’ve looked at a lot of footage of them and they deserve to be where they are. We need to tighten up defensively and we’re always a big goal threat.”

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