Magath: Win at Villa boosts Fulham hopes

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Felix Magath says Fulham’s victory at Aston Villa has given the side renewed confidence they can stay up.

Hugo Rodallega’s late winner lifted the Whites off the bottom of the Premier League and to within five points of 17th-placed Norwich, who they face at Craven Cottage next Saturday.

Fulham boss Magath praised his team for their powers of recovery after refusing to fold once Grant Holt had cancelled out Kieran Richardson’s spectacular strike.

He said: “I’m very proud that we came back after the equaliser. We always believed we could win.

“We have played today with the confidence that we can stay in the league.

“It gives us the right atmosphere to go on and fight for [survival in] the Premier League.”

Magath also explained the unusual decision to play with three centre-backs from the start before reverting to a more familiar shape at half-time when Rodallega and Ashkan Dejagah came on.

He said: “It was our plan to begin a little bit more defensively and in the second half I wanted to put more attacking players on the field.

“Hugo was in very good shape today. He not only scored, he was a very flexible attacker.”

Fulham were backed noisily at Villa Park by 3,000 travelling fans, after the club subsidised part of the cost of away tickets and laid on travel.

And Magath was delighted with the support his team received, adding: “It was a tremendous atmosphere for us and our fans.

“I could hear them through the whole 90 minutes. With such fans, you cannot go down.”

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