Following Tuesday night’s emphatic victory over West Brom, Clint Dempsey looked back on a fine run of form that has seen Fulham take six points from their last three Barclays Premier League games to fire the Whites up to 13th place.
“We had to regroup after we lost to West Ham and what better way to do that than to win away from home against Stoke and then play well against Tottenham," Dempsey told fulhamfc.com. “I thought we caused them [Tottenham] problems last weekend.
“We weren't at full strength against West Brom on Tuesday but we got the three points we needed. Everybody knows we have to stick together and work hard and show our character on the pitch and that’s what we’ve done.
“The West Ham game was very frustrating but we've bounced back from that. We’ve shown a lot of character and a willingness to get forward and win games. We’ve got to keep the standards up and do it again this weekend against Peterborough|.
“We’ve got to keep this positive run going because points are hard to come by in this league and we’ve taken six points from the last three games. The type of attitude and commitment we’ve shown will get us the points we need and into a safer position. We can then start looking up and not down.
“If you get on a run of form and pick up some good results you can find yourself moving up the table very quickly and hopefully we can do that. I think you’ll start to see us play better football because it is difficult when you’re in this position and things don’t seem to be going your way. We’ve got players coming back and getting fit so as soon as we get a full Team we can see how we’re doing.”
Dempsey is currently Fulham’s leading goalscorer and the US international’s goals has proved crucial in the absence of Bobby Zamora, Andrew Johnson and Mousa Dembele this season. For an attacking midfielder Dempsey scores more than his fair share of goals and looks set to smash his 2009/10 tally with plenty of games to spare.
“It’s been four games since I scored and it’s nice to get back on track,” said Dempsey. “That’s seven in all competitions this season and I’m hoping to improve on last year’s tally of nine goals.
“I play different positions and I continue to do what I do every year. I’m not prolific but I get goals for the Team. I’ve continued my form and I just try and better myself and every year I’ve been here I’ve been able to do that.”
One thing Dempsey does seem to collect apart from goals is black eyes, with the American adding another battle mark to the impressive bruise he picked up at Upton Park in October. One of Dempsey’s collection of black eyes recently featured on a poster campaign across South West London and the player admits it’s nice to be recognised for his achievements in the game.
“Everyone’s always saying, 'do you ever not have a black eye?’" Dempsey joked. “I think it’s difficult for people to take a picture with me when I haven’t got a black eye!
“I had the pleasure of seeing a poster in New York before the World Cup - it was a Nike campaign and that was crazy. As a kid it’s always something you wish for, to be recognised for what you do.
“When I was growing up in Nacogdoches, soccer was not very popular and it’s good to be in a place where it is appreciated. It’s starting to get that way in America but that’s why I came to Europe. I wanted to play against the best and be in a country where people care about the sport as much as I do.”