Slavisa Jokanovic criticises Fulham's first-half showing in draw with Watford
Saturday 22 September 2018 18:05, UK
Slavisa Jokanovic criticised Fulham's first-half performance but praised his players' reaction after he made changes at the break.
Andre Gray gave Watford the lead after just one minute and 27 seconds but Aleksandar Mitrovic's late strike rescued a point for Fulham as they improved after the break to salvage a 1-1 draw.
The hosts were lucky to go in at the break only one goal down after Christian Kabasele and Gray spurned presentable openings, while it could have been even worse had referee Martin Atkinson sent off Timothy Fosu-Mensah for a studs-up tackle on Troy Deeney just past the half-hour mark.
Jokanovic switched to a 4-4-2 formation in the second half by bringing on Denis Odoi and Floyd Ayite, which strengthened Fulham's display in midfield.
"I made two changes, if I have opportunity to make four I would do it," Jokanovic said.
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"It's not a question about one player or what I change, any player wasn't in a good enough level in the first 45 minutes and at the end I tried to make some kind of support for my team and move a bit different.
"Credit to the team, they showed different levels in the second 45 minutes and changed the story."
Watford remain in the top four as their impressive start to the new campaign continues, while Fulham stay 15th in the table.
Although a newly-promoted team, this is Fulham's second worst-ever start to a Premier League season, taking just five points from their first six matches.
Jokanovic admits his team need to improve in order to remain competitive at this level.
"We must be focused, concentrate - this is the Premier League, the most competitive league in the world," he said.
"These mistakes and sloppy starts can make it complicated to fix.
"We must be available to work. We must be available to step up. I need my players to be brave and confident.
"We must be satisfied with one point, but I'm not completely satisfied with our 90 minutes. The satisfaction comes from the second-half. There's space for improvement, as the gap is huge."
