Hodgson wants season to go on

Roy Hodgson's Fulham side are only steps away from securing a remarkable survival in the Premiership, but the boss wishes the season would not end so soon.

"I wish there were six or seven more games left to play," he said. "Then I would be feeling really confident that we could pull ourselves out of it. I fear we've left it very late but the great thing is we go into the last game with a chance of success.

"I've got to say, three or four weeks ago, our chances of survival looked so slim. But we didn't lose faith and we've always thought we could do what we've done.

"It would be a great achievement by the team and I'm just a part of it. We've got an excellent coaching staff. The players have responded magnificently and the longer we've worked, the better they've got.

"I think it will be a great week, there'll be a lot of media attention, there'll be a lot of speculation 'Can they do it?', 'Should they do it?', 'Are they the right team to do it?' That's what we're in the game for,” he said.

"We'll work hard to make certain we're as well prepared as possible to face Portsmouth. Then I'll brace myself for Sunday.

"That might be a great night or it might be a very bad one. I'll have to brace myself for both possibilities."