Fulham did well in the 3rd round of the FA Cup with a resounding win over lower league side Peterborough. The 6-2 score included a hattrick from Diomansy "Joe" Kamara and sets The Cottagers up for their fourth round clash with Tottenham.
Fulham boss Mark Hughes decided to field a full-strength side and got the result he hoped for. The win continued a decent run of recent results and should help with team confidence in coming Premiership games.
"I said prior to the game that I think Cup runs help your league form anyway, I've always had that opinion," Hughes explained after the game. "Invariably if you look back on the teams I've been involved with before, I've always played strong sides.
"I thought it was important for the continuity of the team in terms of performance. We try to accentuate the positives; we're on a decent run of form. It was important just to have another positive performance and align that with a win.
"We've got ability in the side and if you get a fair crack of the whip you can find yourself in the latter stages [of the FA cup] and then it's up for grabs. We haven't got any other distractions; there aren't that many other competitions. We're still in this competition and we'll see how far we go."
"I've got a great group - I've been saying that for a long time," the Manager said. "They want to do well, progress and get to the next level and that's part of my remit. I think since the West Ham game, where we didn't play particularly poorly but we just had a poor result, we've really dug in and have shown good qualities. We're really looking forward to what's ahead of us.
"I think it's important that you stimulate the group, you can't just rest on your laurels. The same group of players have had a couple of great years without that many changes - but it's important that you keep adding quality."