Whilst the current round of international fixtures may be providing many of Fulham’s players with a break from the hustle and bustle of Premiership football, there was no let up in the intensity of Fulham's training this week.
After a double training session on Thursday fulhamfc.com managed to catch up with goalkeeper Antti Niemi for his views on Fulham’s recent results and the season so far.
Antti, it was a long training session on Thursday, did you enjoy it?
“It was good. We did two different sessions, physical and then football. The training has been good this season. We’ve made some good comebacks this season - it can’t be a coincidence that we came back against Bolton, Newcastle and now against Watford. The training has been hard but there is a good bunch of lads here and the dressing room is good so it’s always nice to come in.
“Being 34 years old, I’ve noticed that I need the physical side of training more than ever. When you get older, you need to take better care of yourself. I’m lifting more weights and really enjoying the training. Physically I’m fitter than I’ve ever been.”
Looking back on the match against Watford, as a goalkeeper it must have been a strange game to play in…
“It was very strange, Ben Foster will probably tell you the same thing. There were hardly any saves for me to make, I only had one stop in the first half. I’ve been involved in all sorts of games, from boring nil-nils to losing by large amounts but the Watford one was odd.
“But there are certain games were you can’t shine. I went through the goals, as always, and I can’t think what I could have done anything differently. But being a little bit more experienced makes it easier to put that sort of game in the past.
“We ended up with a good point after all. We were disappointed that we didn’t win because we came so close. It was a strange atmosphere after the game, but we sat down for a while and realised that we were two-nil down – dead and buried, but we came back and got an away point.
Are you pleased with the way that the defence has been playing in front of you this season?
“We’ve conceded 12 goals in seven games and eight of those came in two games. On the opening day United were awesome and it was a bit disappointing to concede three against Watford. But other than those two games, we’ve looked really solid. We’ve kept some clean sheets and we could have done better in a couple of other games but overall there are more positives than negatives.”
"I’m lifting more weights and really enjoying the training. Physically I’m fitter than I’ve ever been." Antti Niemi
Do you think the goalkeeper should be the player in charge of organising the defence?
“Sometimes, but that’s not a problem here because we have players like Franck Queudrue and Ian Pearce. They’ve got a lot of Premiership experience.
“We’ve got honest lads in our defence. If they make mistakes, it’s not going to be through sloppiness or being big-headed so I don’t see any reason to shout. That’s the way I am. I think most of the players appreciate that because I’m quite calm before the games. It’s strange but I can’t get nervous before games.
“Of course, I get annoyed if I concede a bad goal. But sometimes there’s nothing you can do about it. ”
You mentioned Ian Pearce who, last season, didn’t feature much in the First Team. But now that he’s put his injury problems behind him, he’s looking a really impressive defender…
“I like playing with him. I like defenders who aren’t raving and shouting and look like they want to do everything on the pitch. He’s quite laid back and calm.
"He just does his job, he knows what he’s good at. He’s very strong in the air and his positional sense is really good.
“If you ask Pearcey himself, I’m sure he would say the same, he just doesn’t look like the same player as when I joined the Club last year. Physically he looks fitter; he’s got a six-pack and everything. Visibly he’s a different athlete.
"He’s one of those unsung heroes that every team needs, he’s a very likeable person and is a major player for us.”
Looking back, was it a shock to lose so heavily to Manchester United on the first day of the season?
“The first games of any season are always strange and you see some funny results. Of course Manchester United were the favourites but losing 5-1 was awful, especially when you consider that they were 4-0 up after 20 minutes.
"This season I think United are serious challengers for the title but the way we lost that game was not like us.”
Was it difficult to keep your confidence after that start?
“Not really. We had a good pre-season, we played some tough teams and got some great results. So we knew that our quality was there but players like Franck, Pearcey and I, who have a lot of experience, know that those sorts of results can happen so we just had to put it to the back of our minds. I think the team responded really well.
“At times on the pitch, we could have passed the ball better, like against Watford in the first half. But we have responded well, especially in our away games.
“Away games are often about attitude, spirit and how much you want to get the points. It’s been really pleasing to see how we’ve grafted. Last season we had to wait until our match against Man City to get the first win. So getting the win against Newcastle helped take the pressure off.”
So, what are the players’ main aims for this season?
“We’re going for a top half finish. It would be nice get a good FA Cup run because that’s been something that Fulham has been missing over the past few years. With the squad we have, we need to approach every game and just do our best. If we can keep the same motivation and attitude I’m sure we’ll be fine.”
