SURVIVAL WOULD MEAN THE WORLD TO ME
Staying up this term will be as good as Germany’s Brazil triumph for Schurrle
WORLD CUP and Premier League winner Andre Schurrle believes that maintaining Fulham’s elite status will be like collecting another trophy.
He confesses that scrapping against the drop after helping Germany triumph in the 2014 World Cup and assisting Chelsea to the title 12 months later is new territory – one he has a growing dislike for.
“Staying up would be one of the biggest achievements because we are deep, deep, deep in trouble and we need to get momentum back and win games,” said the 28-year-old.
Fulham, who remain rooted in the relegation places, are still awaiting their first away win in the league this season after a performance at Turf Moor that went from the sublime to the ridiculous.
A brilliant strike from Schurrle should have been the launchpad for a rare success away from Craven Cottage, only for Claudio Ranieri’s side to self-destruct with two own goals in quick succession.
“It was a great start for us. It was exactly how we wanted to play,” Schurrle said.
“Get in behind and try to turn people, but after that there was nothing from us in the first half.
“It’s very hard to take. It was a game we said we had to win to put the teams around us under pressure.
“It’s not in our own hands (to stay up), that is for sure, but there is hope and there is belief, that’s the main thing. We have to get our heads straight, rest, and then work hard this week to be positive again.”
Schurrle, on loan from Borussia Dortmund, has exchanged an assault on the Bundesliga title for a grim battle for survival and admits he is finding it difficult to adapt. “It’s not easy,” he said.
“It’s not easy to adapt to losing a lot. It’s not what I am used to. I have to put my qualities into the team and try to score a bit more. Hopefully we won’t score any more own goals and win some games.
“I’ve never been involved in something like this. When you are down there everything goes against you and that’s where we are at now. It’s very hard to take.”
Worried Fulham owner Shahid Khan has every right to demand better after a £105million summer investment.
He can also question Ranieri’s decision to start with Luciano Vietto and Tom Cairney on the bench – once they were released they were Fulham’s best hope to earn a point, or even three, as the Cottagers dominated and created the better chances.
Schurrle accepts Fulham, five points adrift of safety after just three Premier League wins all season, need to recapture the spirit which inspired promotion last term.
He said: “It’s not easy to build a team spirit and win games like these when the weather is s**t and everything goes against you.
“But there are still a few months to go and we will not give up.”