Fulham Republic of Ireland international Steve Finnan has prepared
for part one of his personal double-header with Liverpool and Germany midfield
maestro Dietmar Hamann by urging his team-mates to finish their debut FA
Barclaycard Premiership campaign with a flourish.
Right-back Finnan will first come face to face with Reds playmaker Hamann
in Saturday's top-flight clash with the title-chasing Reds at Craven Cottage
- and again on June 5, when Mick McCarthy's men square up to the Germans
for the vital World Cup showdown in Ibaraki.
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Fulham defender Steve Finnan wants to finish
the season with a flourish
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Fulham's former Birmingham and Notts County man has the ideal opportunity
to assess the 28-year-old - one of Rudi Voller's star players - this weekend
and hand McCarthy a detailed reconnaissance report.
Fulham are still ninth in the Premiership table, despite Saturday's 4-1
spanking at Arsenal contributing to a poor run of just four points from
15.
The Cottagers now face the Reds before Wednesday's trip to fifth-placed
west London rivals Chelsea and Finnan said: "These games are a challenge
and the reason you want to be in the Premiership.
"Arsenal were outstanding - now it's Liverpool and Michael Owen,
Emile Heskey and Nicolas Anelka - and then it's on to Chelsea.
"Hamann's a top-class player and you don't play for Liverpool if
you're not good.
"There's been talk about him going to a billion European clubs as
well so he must be playing well.
"It would be nice to win the match against Liverpool, hopefully
with Hamann having a bad game! Then we'll try and beat Germany.
"When you play against these players first-hand, you get an idea
about them. We've got to look out for him, but it's not just about him
- Liverpool have got a lot of top players in their team."
Finnan believes Fulham's nine-point gap to sixth-placed Leeds is too
wide to bridge over the final 11 league fixtures of the season - so he
is focusing on seventh position.
"It will be very difficult to get into the top six, but finishing seventh
would be a great season for us," he added.