Karagounis - Onwards And Upwards

Giorgos Karagounis has hailed Fulham’s 2-1 win at West Bromwich Albion on New Year’s Day as a ‘massive victory’ for the Whites.

Fulham went into the televised game at The Hawthorns with just one win in their previous 12 matches, a disappointing run of form which had seen Martin Jol’s side slip into the bottom half of the Barclays Premier League table.

But, despite the early start, the Whites began 2013 with a bang as goals from Dimitar Berbatov and Alexander Kačaniklić either side of Romelu Lukaku’s leveller earned Fulham a vital three points.

And Greek midfielder Karagounis, who started the fixture, told the official website: “Prior to the match against West Brom we didn’t take as many points as we had hoped, especially at home. We felt as though we deserved a bit more given the quality in the squad. I feel that we didn’t have much luck go our way against Swansea City, it was a game we should have won but we didn’t even come away with a draw.

“We must leave that behind us now because we started the New Year with a massive victory away from home which helps give our confidence a boost given the results from the previous matches.”

Karagounis, who joined the Whites as a free agent in September, is now hoping Fulham can take use the win at the home of the Baggies as the springboard for a successful second half of the campaign.

“I think that we can now take this forward in the next games that we play, starting with Saturday’s FA Cup match against Blackpool,” he said. “The result against West Brom can help us move forward now with greater confidence because the Team doesn’t deserve to be in its current league position but higher up - as we were at the start of the season.

"We want to finish as high as possible in the Premier League and to progress as far as we can in the FA Cup. If we have a chance to win it, then why not? If we keep our focus on the game we are about to play, it shows that we will always give each fixture our full concentration which in the long run will be better for everyone and the Team."

As one of the most experienced players in the squad, the 35-year-old admits he has an important role to play at Fulham - on and off the pitch.

"Even when I was a lot younger, the senior players with a lot of experience helped me," stated Karagounis. "Young players just want to learn. You might think that you know everything when you are young, and I perhaps thought this myself at the time, but it’s not true. If a young player asks me for advice, I’m not only happy to help but feel it’s my duty. The only problem I have is with the language as I need to improve my English a bit more but I try to help as much as I am able to with great pleasure."