Mario: Thank You

A lack of fans in stadiums didn’t diminish Mario Lemina’s relationship with the Fulham faithful during his time at the Club.

The midfielder posted an Instagram story last week detailing the respect he holds for the Whites supporters.

Explaining the meaning behind the post, Lemina said: “The feeling that I had, when I said that, I was feeling that all the fans were still behind us.

“The messages they sent to me said they were proud of what I had done because I never gave up, and I think all the team did the same.

“That’s why I wanted to say thank you to them. They weren’t in the stadiums, but still they could see that we tried to fight and give everything until the end.

“You still feel the love from them because we are on social media. They were still believing until the last moment that we could stay in the Premier League.

“There wasn’t any negativity from them, they were always positive and trusting in us.

“I’d like to say thank you for standing with us and for still pushing us even though we are relegated.

“We missed them a lot, we missed them in the stadium. I think it really changed something, because we saw in the Liverpool [home] game we had some fans, and I think without them it would maybe not have been the same.

“We missed them a lot and thank you very much for what they’ve done on social media. I really felt it, and we tried to give them back all the respect that they gave to us.”

Lemina was at the heart of one of the highlights of Fulham’s season, scoring a fine winner at Anfield to move us level on points with Brighton & Hove Albion in 17th, but the team struggled to build on that result and performance.

“I don’t think that this Liverpool game changed something in our attitude or anything,” Lemina mused. “We just tried to play our game like we always play.

“After Liverpool it just didn’t work like we wanted. Sometimes that’s life and we have to accept it.

“The only thing I can say is that the whole team didn’t give up, we never gave up, and that’s what we have to remember.

“Honestly, I still feel pain, because we had a great team to stay in the Premier League, but it didn’t go as we wanted.

“We’ve been so unlucky, but at the same time, I’m not going to lie, we weren’t good enough to stay in the Premier League this year. But I think in the next seasons, Fulham is going to get better and better.”

Lemina’s bond with the Club was evident after the late Wolverhampton Wanderers defeat, when he was seen in tears at full-time.

A lack of effort was never in question this season.

“For me, loan or not, when you start a season with a club, you need to give everything for the team that you’re playing for,” he explained. “That’s what I tried to do, as did all the other players, I think.

“For me, when I play for a team, I give everything for the badge, I give my patience, and that’s what I have to do to respect the club I’m at. That’s me, and that’s my pride.

“We built something together, the whole staff and the players, and we wanted to show something positive for the fans and for the Club.

“We knew we could achieve more than we got, but we’re still proud that we gave everything until the end, and that’s why the Gaffer and the staff are still proud of us. But this is life, we have to accept it and try to bounce.

“I have a lot of respect for all the staff, the Club, the players, and that made me really, really happy and proud to be here.

“Like I said, when I feel this sensation, this emotion, I just try to give the best of myself, and that’s what I tried to do during the whole season.

“When I came I was a little bit injured. I tried to build myself, my shape, to be the best player I can. I gave everything, I gave everything that I had for Fulham, and I just regret the end result. That’s it.

“For myself, I’m really proud of what I’ve done, because I never gave up and I just showed what I wanted to give for the Club.”