Fulham boss identifies the biggest thorns in Sheffield United's side at Craven Cottage

Although the former Chelsea and England midfielder insisted a “collective” performance had been responsible for delivering a result which breathed new life into the hosts’ battle to avoid relegation from the Premier League, he reserved special mention for the two midfielders.

“I thought man to man, from one to eleven and the boys that came on, the whole team was excellent,” Parker said, after watching Ademola Lookman score the only goal of the contest. “But I thought those two, Ruben and Harrison, were exceptional.”

With United now as good as down - they finished the match 14 points adrift of safety with only 13 games remaining - Parker believes Fulham can haul themselves to safety despite winning for only the second time at Craven Cottage this term.

“I always believed we belonged at this level,” Parker, whose side are 18th, continued. “I think the players also believed it too, genuinely. But now they are really beginning to show it and we are moving in the right direction.”

“There was a lot of pressure out there, it was an issue, yes,” he continued. “That won’t come as a surprise because of the position we are both in. So that was a result first and performance second type of game. The good thing is, I think we got both. I think we deserved it but we knew they were going to make it difficult.”

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