Odoi: We won’t miss Mitro

EXCLUSIVE BY YANN TEAR
yann@slpmedia.co.uk­

Denis Odoi says Fulham have enough firepower and variety to make up for the loss of Aleksandar Mitrovic in tomorrow night’s west London derby against QPR.

The Serbian has been in prolific form and scored three more for his country in midweek against
Luxembourg and Ukraine, and has 12 goals for the Whites already this season.

But he has also picked up five bookings, and that triggers a one-game ban.

“The QPR coach will be very happy, but that’s the way it is,” the defender told the London Weekly News.
“It’s a shame for us but it gives an opportunity for somebody else to do something.

Mitro is often the one who finishes off our moves, but we have Ivan Cavaleiro, Anthony Knockaert, Bobby Reid and Tom Cairney who can all score goals, as well as Abou Kamara.

“We have enough offensive quality. Maybe it could be me, but I’m not a scoring type of defender,
although I nearly scored against Luton the other day. I’m more focused on winning the game.

The 31-year-old continued: “It’s a big game for different reasons, because it’s a local derby but also the start of a long period with many big games and we want to start that run on a positive note.

“It’s a good test for us. In the coming two months, we have a lot of tough games against good teams like Derby, Leeds, Bristol City and Brentford. It is going to be an important time for us.

“I have played four times against QPR and they have always been difficult games. The last one we played two years ago was a 2-2 draw when I slipped and made a mistake and they equalised, but we also won at their place.

“The atmosphere is always electric and I enjoy that but for me it’s really just another game we want to win.”

Odoi has only played nine times in this campaign, as injury early in the season sidelined him for a few matches, and Steven Sessegnon kept him out of the starting XI.

But he is very much back in boss Scott Parker’s thinking, and refreshed after a few days off during the international break, which gave him enough time to visit family in Belgium.

He wants to play a big part in what comes next for Fulham and says he would be content to see out his
playing days in west London, having moved from Lokeren in the summer of 2016.

“I would be more than happy to finish here if I can still play for five or six more years,” he said. “It’s a nice place to live.

“I have a one-year option for next season but for now I’m only thinking about promotion.

“Probably if we don’t go up it will be a failure but our aim is very clear. There is nothing wrong with ambition and we are not going to hide from that responsibility.

“It’s fair to say if we look at our squad, we have a very talented side that is as good as the one from two years ago when we went up, but we have sometimes not been able to grind out results where we should have won – as happened at Sheffield Wednesday.

“But it’s a long season and we keep on learning.

“Against Birmingham, we showed we could do it.”

On the theme of grinding out results, Odoi, who scored a famous goal in the play-off semi-final win against Derby two seasons ago, predicts a 1-0 win for the Whites. “That will be fine for us,” he said.

“A win and a clean sheet is what we defenders like best.”

For all the intensity of the occasion, the ground configuration should lend a slightly surreal atmosphere.

The Riverside Stand has now been pulled down and a huge empty space in front of the Thames makes the loss of a ball or two
seem inevitable.

“We played in a ground where one side was missing at Bristol City a few years ago and it was a bit strange,” Odoi said. “I liked the old stand but it should be good when the new one is up.”

Main Pic: Fulham’s Denis Odoi (left) and Aleksandar Mitrovic (right) after the final whistle during the Sky Bet Championship match at Oakwell against Barnsley Picture: PA