Coleman demands maximum return

Chris Coleman insists Fulham must dispatch sides like Watford if they are to progress in the Barclays Premiership.

The Cottagers have been embroiled in relegation battles for the past two seasons but Coleman is determined to establish the club as regulars in the top half of the table.

The Fulham boss knows that to realise his ambition it is imperative to take maximum points against teams expected to struggle – such as tonight’s opponents Watford.

He said: “Watford are the bread and butter points for us. We need results against smaller clubs like Watford, Charlton and ourselves.

“Over the course of the season we’ll be battling with Watford. It’s a big game for us.”

Watford are still searching for their first victory of the campaign with Coleman warning morale at Vicarage Road will plummet if they are not successful soon.

“Watford haven’t won so they’ll have that in mind when they play us. Apparently there’s a wonderful spirit over there so we’ll have to match that,” he said.

“But I’ve been involved with teams who have good spirit, but when you keep losing and you’re not getting points, that spirit gets dented. There’s nothing like winning to keep the spirit going.”

Fulham’s own spirit appears intact despite a crippling injury list which has decimated the midfield.

For the past two games, German right-back Moritz Volz has been played out of position in response to the crisis and has acquitted himself well, earning praise from Coleman.

Volz has become a cult figure at Craven Cottage following revelations that he cycles to home games and that David Hasselhoff is his hero.

Coleman said: “’The Hoff’ has done great. Who in their right mind would want anybody to know he likes him?

“But he’s been fantastic. He’s playing out of position and did a great job on Ashley Cole against Chelsea and did a great job in centre midfield against Tottenham.”

Coleman switched to a 4-5-1 formation for the 2-0 defeat by Chelsea boss admits he will tinker with his line-up once again for Watford tonight.

“We’ve got to chop and change, mix it up a little bit and keep teams guessing,” he said.

“We can’t afford to go with the same team week in week out. There will be a different formation on Monday. Hopefully we’ll keep everybody fit until then.”