Fulham manager Claudio Ranieri praised his players’ adventure even as they slipped to a 3-0 home defeat to in-form Manchester United.
The Cottagers will finish this round of fixtures at least seven points away from survival, and the irritation of the fans was evident on Saturday lunchtime.
Fulham fans chanted ‘you don’t know what you’re doing’ at Ranieri after he withdrew Andre Schurrle early in the second half having also opted not to start either Ryan Sessegnon or Tom Cairney, both of whom are fan favourites.
“I have soldiers, because until the end we wanted to score the goal,” Ranieri said. “Even at 3-0 we wanted to score the goals.
“When you play against champions you have to stay calm, don’t lose your composure. That’s the real problem. They wanted to do something, but you have to stay calm and think.
“I understand the fans want to see the players fight until the end. Of course we lost 3-0, it’s not an easy result, we are in a very dangerous situation, I understand.
“I told my players it’s important to show to our fans that we are alive, and that we will try to do our best until the end.”