Despite being a relative newcomer to the Premier League, Brede Hangeland will go into Saturday’s match against Manchester United with the experience of two Champions League ties against the Red Devils in his locker.
The Norwegian central defender played in both of FC Copenhagen’s matches against United last season – a 3-0 defeat at Old Trafford and a 1-0 victory in Denmark.
“That was one of the biggest games I’ve played and if we could do it again it would be equally as big,” Hangeland said as he looked forward to Saturday’s encounter at Craven Cottage.
“We played above our level and I think you have to do that to beat Man United. We’ll have to do that on Saturday if we want to win. They’re a fantastic side with world class players all over the field and we should look forward to the occasion.”
Nonetheless, Hangeland insists will not be overawed: “I’ll do the job the manager tells me to do, if it’s marking Rooney or whoever, I’ll do my best anyway.”
With Fulham needing to get points on the board as quickly as possible, the disappointment of last weekend’s late defeat to West Ham has placed an even greater emphasis on the United match.
“We’re playing reasonably well and we can win every game,” he said. “It’s just that we haven’t had the luck in our last few games.
“It’s a tough game to swallow [the West Ham result] because you feel like you should have won it. I felt it was a free kick when they scored the goal and it makes you feel a bit sorry for yourself after a game like that but what can you do? You have to focus on the coming games and hopefully we can do some magic on Saturday.”
