I may have to re-think the Sunday afternoon/evening pints, late night curry and a couple of games of pool next time before a Monday morning press conference. But, in my defence, I was still on a high after our brilliant point at Anfield on Saturday.
It was back to business this morning at Motspur Park as Alvaro Arbeloa spoke to the press ahead of Fulham’s short trip to the London Stadium for their Carabao Cup tie against West Ham United.
It was with my good friend, Joe - a West Ham fan - who I was with last night in Royal Mahal, talking all things West Ham v Fulham over a chicken tikka karahi, paneer tikka and some delicious daal last night.
Of course we weren’t expecting to be going head-to-head this season, with West Ham in the Championship, but the luck of the draw means Fulham are heading to East London tomorrow for the game.
It was time to speak with Arbeloa again, less than 48 hours since our last chat post Liverpool. There were many Fulham fans wondering why Ryan Sessegnon didn’t make the cut on Saturday, but the gaffer cleared things up.
“We had a small program with Sess last week, so we were not sure if he was ready for the Saturday game. He had some scans and we didn’t take any risk with him so he won’t be able for tomorrow’s game,” the boss said.
“We’ll see if he can be available for Man United, but we don’t know yet. We don’t want to take any risk with him for sure. It’s a small problem in the groin, so it will be some days, but we don’t know yet if for Man United he will be ready. If not, after the international break.
“We don’t want to take any risks with him. So Tom and Sess will be not in the squad tomorrow.”
We also found out that David Affengruber was on Arbeloa’s radar all summer, and not just a last-minute panic buy. Here’s what he had to say about our new centre-back, who impressed so much on Saturday.
“I knew him very well, and we were looking for a centre-back during all of the summer. I talked about him with the club at the beginning of the summer but they were looking for more players,” said AA.
“Sometimes they were looking for a player that has experience in the Premier League or maybe a player that the profile is more similar to the Premier League centre-backs, but I knew him very very well.
“I think his first game in a difficult stadium against a very difficult opponent like Isak, a very good striker, and he did really well because he has that personality. He’s very very good with the ball, he’s so intelligent, but also he’s strong, I think he has the pace and he understands the game very very well, so I think he can play even better.”
High praise for Affengruber who has excited fans with his potential in this side.
West Ham will be a tough test for Fulham, with the Hammers top of the Championship and coming off an impressive 6-0 win against Wrexham. Speaking with Joe last night, he has his sights firmly set on the big one on Saturday - Millwall at The Den. But, for Fulham, this will not be an easy game, as Arbeloa highlighted.
“They are a difficult team with top players, even some of them are Premier League level, so it’s nice for me, they are not a Championship team, so if we want to beat them, we need to perform as well.”
The Carabao Cup may give Arbeloa the chance to rotate, while maintaining the positive feeling following the weekend’s result. But, as he eluded too, we may see some of the fringe players get a chance.
“I want to win games, and I want to win tomorrow’s game. I think we will need fresh legs, and will be opportunities for some players that deserve the opportunity, and they can show me, and they can show their talent, and they can show what they can do on the pitch, because I believe that they can help us to win the game.
“For me, it’s the most important thing, it’s not just about rotation, it’s about the best 11 starters that I can put into the pitch.”
There will be plenty of Fulham fans making the short journey to Stratford tomorrow, so I’m sure it’ll be a cracking atmosphere. I’m ooking forward to the game, and hoping for a first away goal, and win, of the campaign.
COYW!