So we are all frustrated...

Martin Jol admitted his side didn’t deserve to beat Southampton in the 1-1 draw on Boxing Day. Speaking afterwards, Jol said: “I’m very disappointed that we didn’t take the three points. But I don’t think we played well enough to say we deserved the three points.
“It was a stupid handball but you have to score two or three goals to make life easy for yourself. We couldn’t play the way we wanted to play. We didn’t link-up in midfield and it was almost an old-fashioned long-ball game today which is not what we want."
“I am angry. I am like a thunderstorm. We could have scored more. [Steve] Sidwell and Berbatov had a couple of chances but it wasn’t enough to take the three points.”

Berbatov scored his sixth goal for Fulham when he slotted home at the far post. The Bulgarian was booked for his celebration afterwards after he revealed a T-shirt which read: ‘Keep calm and pass me the ball’. “It was a bit stupid and I will have to have a word with him,” said Jol. “He probably thought he would get away with it as he never gets booked! It wasn’t the brightest thing to do but he wanted to make a statement. He tells the youngsters every day to play with confidence, keep the ball and don’t be afraid. You need confidence and self-belief to play your football. He wants us to play in a certain style and that is the message he’s trying to get across.”

On a frustrating afternoon, there was a boost for Fulham in the sight of Bryan Ruiz appearing for the start of the second half. The Costa Rican had shaken off a hamstring injury sustained against Sunderland in mid-November to earn a place on the bench. “You saw when Bryan Ruiz came on that he made a difference,” stated Jol. “He links our midfield and our attack. He wasn’t fit to start but hopefully he can on Saturday against Swansea City and hopefully Mahamadou Diarra can as well. I was very happy at half-time that I could bring Bryan on but it was not enough.”

Jol sprung something of a surprise ahead of kick-off by naming Philippe Senderos in his starting XI in place of Aaron Hughes. Explaining his decision, Jol said: “I thought with three games in six days we needed Philippe because he’s a strong lad. Maybe against Swansea we will need the pace of Aaron Hughes.”

There was no place in the matchday squad for Kieran Richardson, with Jol adding: “Richardson is not 100 per cent fit. He’s not producing what I want him to produce. He’s lacking a bit of spark and a bit of fitness. Maybe he will be back on Saturday. He wants to do better.”

The draw with the Saints means Fulham have now tasted just one win in their last 11 games and Jol mused: “Against Liverpool on Saturday I felt a bit lonely and I think the fans probably did as well. That is not what we want. Over the last five or six weeks we haven’t been good enough. We want to be successful." “It’s not long ago that Danny Murphy had to score on the last day against Portsmouth and Clint Dempsey had to score against Liverpool a few years later. We don’t want that again and we have got the players to be successful when everyone is fit.”