Nigeria forward Sone Aluko says Fulham’s pre-season preparation towards the new Championship season is already yielding dividends.
Aluko – one of eight signings made this summer by manager Slavisa Jokanovic – scored the opening goal in the 3-1 win over Crystal Palace at the weekend, the last friendly before their Championship opener against Newcastle at Craven Cottage on Friday.
According to westlondonsport.com, Aluko said: “The manager has been very disciplined with us and telling us how he wants us to play and getting that point across to us.
“I’ve only played in one formation – we’ve worked on it a lot, breaking teams down, how to press and how to get the ball back and it’s shown in our results, in our organisation and that’s why we’ve kept so many clean sheets [in pre-season].”
The former Hull player also commented on his new role in the team.
“One of the reasons I came to Fulham is because he (Jokanovic) wanted to play me in what I call my natural position [number 10] and what suits my game,” Aluko said.
“In pre-season, I think that has shown – I’ve been gelling with the strikers and the midfield and we’ve got a good understanding.
“It doesn’t have to be number 10 – obviously that’s the position the manager wants me to play but some games I’ll play wide, some games I’ll play through the middle – I’m flexible.
“This season I just want to play as many games as I can – last season I didn’t play anywhere near as many games as I wished to play and I was fit – I’m fit now.”
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