Slavisa Jokanovic Refuses to Criticise Fulham Players After 2-0 Defeat Against Crystal Palace

Fulham manager Slavisa Jokanovic has refused to criticise his players following their 2-0 opening day loss to Crystal Palace.

In what was Fulham's first Premier League game since the 2013/14 season, a host of new signings made their debut for the club, yet despite dominating the first half in particular, goals either side of half time from Jeffrey Schlupp and Wilfried Zaha condemned the Cottagers to a defeat.

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Although disappointed, Jokanovic spoke well of his players after having a limited time to work with the host of new arrivals following the transfer window. 

Speaking post-match to Sky Sports, he said: "Really, I cannot criticise my players because they put everything into this moment that they can offer with some players only training for one day with the team.

"It was a shame, we wanted to start this competition with a positive result. We showed some positive things, obviously we need to improve many things and we are disappointed after this result."

The Cottagers now have a tough game against Tottenham to prepare for in a weeks time as they search for their first points of the season, and Jokanovic knows the best will come from his squad once they adapt to life in the Premier League. 

He continued, stating: "In general, we created, we moved the ball when we had possession of it and we created some half chances in the opposition box.

"The Crystal Palace goalkeeper made some great saves but in the end, this team is new and we had two players that we incorporated yesterday to work with us.

"It was our first test in this competition and we know there is more power, more pace and more quality so we must adapt ourselves for this level."