We won’t give up top flight easily
EXCLUSIVE KEVIN McDONALD is determined Fulham will not become a Premier League one-season wonder.
As we chatted at their training ground Motspur Park, in the wooden pavilion of what used to be Kingstonupon-Thames’s borough sports ground, the Scotland midfielder exuded an easygoing chirpiness.
But there is an unmistakable inner steel.
Fulham have fought long and hard to return to the Premier League and are not going to give it up easily.
All too clear in McDonald’s mind is the agonising play-off failure against Reading two years ago.
And then last season they had a late stumble before the Wembley glory in the playoff final win over Aston Villa that hauled the Cottagers back into the big time after a four-year absence.
“We don’t want to be a oneseason team and go straight back down,” said McDonald, 29. “That’s not what anyone wants, we have worked far too hard as a whole club.
“It is going to pick up, but we have to work hard on the training pitch and cut out the mistakes. We are letting in two to three goals a game. In this league you can’t afford to do that. We have been taught some harsh lessons.
“We should have gone up the first year but oddly, Reading were the one team ARSENAL’s teen sensation Emile Smith Rowe says the rest of the team’s stars will not see him change after his first competitive goal for the club – because he is not allowed in their dressing room.
Smith Rowe scored his first senior goal for the club in the 3-0 win over Qarabag in Azerbaijan in the Europa League on Thursday.
And at London Colney, their training ground is split into a first team and an academy wing, which is joined by a single narrow corridor. And until Smith Rowe is given full senior status, he will continue to hang his coat alongside the rest of the kids.
“To be fair, I am not actually in the changing room at the training that had worked us out. There could have been a hangover but in the end we went up the best way.
“There was that amazing 23-game unbeaten run but then we faltered and people thought the wheels had fallen off. We were great in the semi against Derby and at Wembley it was my best moment as a professional. It was a great feeling to get promoted to the Premier League.”
Despite a summer spend of some £100million and 13 new ground,” he said. “I change separately, find out about 10 minutes before I am due to go out and just run over and train.
“I am still waiting to be asked to move along the corridor. I know a couple of players have done it – Alex Iwobi, Ainsley MaitlandNiles – but yes, hopefully soon.
“But when it comes to games, I look around and can’t believe I’m here. It is still surreal.”
Initially, it was Danny Welbeck and Alexandre Lacazette who made him feel most welcome when he first started playing with the first team on the tour of Singapore in the summer. Gradually, though, they have all had a quiet word.
Smith Rowe, 18, said: “Everyone is helping me, giving me advice. Everyone has been so welcoming. It is like a big family.
“Every player has told me, ‘You’ve got so much ability, so much quality, just keep focused and keep working hard’. To get that off world-class players is just unbelievable.”
But Smith Rowe is unlikely to feature at Fulham as boss Unai Emery is determined to make sure he keeps his feet on the ground. Emery said: “With Emile we must be calm and let him earn his opportunities.” quality of the squad already there, that most observers felt that a stylish Fulham, under the astute Slavisa Jokanovic, would not be one of the teams to struggle
That, McDonald believes, is dangerous thinking. “The manager’s not going to change the way we play. That is not going to happen,” he said.
“But we have leaked some easy goals and the clinical side of things has been much more evident in the Premier League. These teams take their chances. That has killed us.
“We can’t afford to be scoring three goals to win every game. That’s impossible. People thought that by spending £100m, Fulham were going to have a right go.
“But it’s harder than people think, bringing in quality players and thinking everything is going to work perfectly straight away.”
The one shining star for Fulham has been Aleksandar Mitrovic, the Serbia striker who made such an impression in the Championship on loan last season.
Acquiring the 24-year-old on another loan, this time for the season, was a crucial signing for Jokanovic. Already, the charismatic Mitrovic has five goals – but he cannot do it all on his own.
“Mitro is clinical when he gets his chance, but we can’t rely on him every week,” said McDonald. “We need more players to chip in, whether from midfield, setpieces, anything.
“There’ll be times when he has a bad game. He needs help, he can’t do it all on his own. The boss says he wants more from the rest of us. There has to be.”
McDonald squared his shoulders. “There is too much at stake,” he said.