Roy Hodgson vows Fulham will take Sunday’s FA Cup clash with Notts County seriously after revealing he would gladly trade Europa League glory in exchange for seeing off the League Two side.
Due to cup commitments the Cottagers will play at least eight games in the month of February, including a trip to Ukraine for their clash with Shaktar Donetsk.
And the Fulham boss insists it is a case of prioritising.
Hodgson said: “If I could sacrifice the two Europa League games to progress in the FA Cup and move further up the Premier League I would do that.
“The FA Cup is very important to us.
“It would be great to reach the quarter-finals for two years in a row and we have a real opportunity to achieve something.
“Obviously we know it will not be easy but if we perform like we have been in the last three games we are a match for anybody.”
Hodgson was talking after Tuesday’s encouraging 3-0 win over Burnley at Craven Cottage, a win secured thanks to strikes from Danny Murphy, David Elm and Bobby Zamora.
And the Fulham boss was delighted to see his side make it seven points from nine, and their third successive clean sheet.
Hodgson added: “We made it comfortable due to the quality of our performance.
“We pressurised them right from the start and were good value for the win.
“I cannot speak highly enough about this group of players.
“We have battled injuries and had some really difficult fixtures, but the players have consistently over-achieved and done more than I could reasonably ask of them.”
Fulham’s next three matches: Feb 14 Notts County (h), 18 Shaktar Donetsk (EL, h), 21 Birmingham City (a)
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