Hughes calls on Berbatov to stay and help with battle ahead

 
Giuseppe Muro5 December 2013

Aaron Hughes today urged Dimitar Berbatov to stay at Fulham and help their bid for Premier League survival.

Berbatov’s agent has revealed that the Bulgarian forward is unhappy and wants to leave during the January transfer window.

The 32-year-old, whose contract expires next summer, has been linked with West Ham and even Arsenal but new manager Rene Meulensteen is keen to keep him.

Berbatov was outstanding in last night’s 2-1 defeat to Tottenham and Hughes believes it is crucial that he stays in west London.

“He is a vital player for us,” said Hughes. “You have seen in his performance last night the role and the contribution he has in our team. Those performances are brilliant for us. Not only on the ball, but his work rate and not making it easy for their midfielders. ”

Hughes admitted that Fulham players felt partly responsible for Martin Jol getting sacked following a poor start to the season. Jol was replaced by Meulensteen after owner Shahid Khan finally lost patience and Fulham, who have now lost six successive Premier League games, were much improved last night.

Hughes said: “When results are not good everyone looks at the manager but the players have to take responsibility as well. With the display we put in against Spurs, we were unlucky not to get something. We wanted to make sure we had a performance with a lot of energy. What has been disappointing in recent weeks is sometimes the energy levels were not there. We are disappointed we have not got anything but there are positives from the game.”

Hughes added: “As far as on the training pitch, nothing really has changed too much because Rene had been in to help before. The old manager left and there are a few little distractions but we spoke about keeping our focus.”

Tickets are available for this Sunday’s match at Craven Cottage between Fulham and Aston Villa, 1.30pm kick-off.  Visit: www.fulhamfc.com/tickets or call: 0843 208 1234. Tickets can also be purchased in person from the Ticket Office (check opening times online).

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