Coleman ready for survival battle

Coleman knows there is no room for ineffective football

Fulham boss Chris Coleman knows his side have a massive fight on their hands to avoid relegation and has told his side to scrap for their lives.

After Monday's 3-1 defeat by Manchester City, which left Fulham without a win in seven games, Coleman said: "We have got a scrap on our hands now.

"It is a dogfight and when you go into those you have to fight like dogs.

"We have got to stay up, no matter what it looks like. Only the results are important, not the way we get them."

I've never seen the players so low - but we can't feel sorry for ourselves Chris Coleman

He added: "I never pulled out of a challenge as a player, and I'm not about to do it as a manager."

On Monday, Coleman was booed off at both half-time and the end as disgruntled fans at Craven Cottage demanded his head with shouts of "Coleman out."

And Coleman admitted: "I can't blame the supporters for their reaction. They haven't seen us win since Newcastle in January. Now we need at least two more wins from the last five.

"You can't change players overnight. We have a lot who can pass it nicely and show technique, and a few who are scrappers. Now we have all got to scrap.

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"I've never seen the players so low. They are devastated, gutted, but we can't feel sorry for ourselves.

"I'm not going to put the boot into them because they know the position we are in."

Fulham are only four points above the drop zone and have played a game more than Sheffield United and West Ham - the two teams along with Watford who make up the bottom three.

And the Cottagers face a testing run-in with games against Arsenal away and Liverpool at home included in their fixture list.