Fulham goalkeeper Kasey Keller admits that Sunday's clash at Fratton Park is going to be, "as big as they come."
The Whites head into Survival Sunday with their destiny in their own hands - a position Keller would have happily accepted at the beginning of April.
“We always felt that we were capable of doing it," revealed Keller. "We knew that as long as there was a mathematical chance, if we put a run together, we could get ourselves out of trouble,"
“We had that run of games when we had Newcastle, Derby, Reading and Sunderland at home. We couldn’t quite put it together. We felt that in those games we had a great chance to get ourselves out of trouble.
“We’re not out of trouble yet, but we’ve got it in our own hands and if you’d of told us this after the Sunderland game, that we’d be going to Portsmouth with it in our hands, we’d of taken it right there and then."
Fulham's upper hand was confirmed when Erik Nevland put the seal on a two-nil victory over Birmingham last week and Keller credits the supporters for creating a memorable atmosphere at the Cottage.
“Saturday was the best atmosphere I’ve experienced at Fulham by far. I thought the Everton game was tremendous as well. Obviously the Sunderland and Liverpool games were a disappointment but from start to finish the Birmingham game was something special.
"We were all very happy with the fans who gave everything for us and we were more than happy to give it back to them."
Saturday's euphoric celebrations at the Cottage have long since passed for Roy Hodgson and his team and Keller is thankful for a full week to prepare and focus for the biggest day in the Club's history.
“It’s kind of nice that it’s a long week because you have that time to come down. As the week progresses everyone is starting to truly understand what task we have ahead of us. We’ve put ourselves in a great position and now we have to take advantage of that.
“We’re extremely happy but as Roy emphasised earlier in the week - we haven’t done anything yet. We’ve got ourselves in a position where we can do it. We still have to go and have a great performance against Portsmouth."
There are sure to be a few more moments of high drama on Sunday afternoon but one thing is for certain, no one at Fulham will be underestimating the threat Portsmouth pose at Fratton Park.
“They’re on a bit of a bad run and players will be trying to prove themselves to be in that FA Cup Final team. We know it’s a difficult, difficult task ahead of us, just as Reading and Birmingham have difficult tasks.
“These things turn – at 70 minutes at Man City we were relegated. It can turn for you, and against you, very quickly. What’s nice is that we know if we can go and do the job it doesn’t matter what anyone else does.”
Keller's experience will be crucial on Sunday and keeping Fulham in the top flight would count as one of the keepers his all time career highs.
“Getting out of trouble would be right up there with the highs that have come. In my first season with Borussia Mönchengladbach we were able to achieve a similar feat and I just remember that feeling coming home from that trip – it’s one that I would thoroughly love to replicate on Sunday.
"From Cup Finals and different things…this is going to be as big as they come. We’re looking forward to it."
