Jol quiet on possible player exits

The west Londoners secured their fifth win in seven games with goals from Clint Dempsey and Mousa Dembele - both of whom have been heavily linked with summer moves away, while the likes of Danny Murphy and Andrew Johnson have yet to extend their deals past the summer.

"If you don't mind, I don't want to think about that kind of negativity," Jol said when asked if players would be leaving this summer. "I want to enjoy today and I enjoyed it before the match, which is probably the first time this season because there was not a lot to lose."

Discussing the match, he continued: We thought if we would get a win under our belt, we could end up above Liverpool. If we had ended up with one point, we were certain of ending above Stoke, Swansea and all the other teams so it is great to have a win and we will be in top 10, which was our main target.

"I was very pleased with the way we played and the only thing is that excitement [of having to hold on] until the last second is not what you want. If you played the way we played, you should have scored three or four goals and put it to bed and finish it off.

"That is not what we did but we are improving, we are getting better, we try to play our football and especially in the first half you saw we were the better team because of our style. If all the players will be here, we will only get better."

Meanwhile, Sunderland counterpart Martin O'Neill struck a frustrated figure in the post-match press conference.

The Black Cats are without a win in seven league matches after Sunday's loss, which was made especially irritating after Dembele scored Fulham's winner straight after Phil Bardsley had pulled them level.

"I think that obviously we missed some gilt-edged chances and eventually that proved the difference in the game," O'Neill said. "Overall it was an encouraging performance by us and in possession I thought we passed the ball pretty well, so to concede just after we scored a great equaliser was particularly galling.

"I would say within 10 seconds of kick-off they have made it 2-1 so it just nullifies our goal immediately and sets you on the back foot. We should have done better. We should have dealt with it better, but overall we are learning."

Source: PA

Source: PA