Kieran Richardson on Fulham survival hopes: 'I know from what happened with West Brom that you can turn it round with a couple of results'

Winger spoke after Fulham's 3-1 defeat by Chelsea on Saturday

Kieran Richardson competes for the ball from the Fulham midfield (GETTY IMAGES)

Kieran Richardson’s career peaked early, when he scored twice on his one and only start for England in 2005. While never living up to that promise he has sustained a Premier League career and enjoyed other highlights. One was the half-season with West Bromwich Albion which led to that England bow as he played a key part in their ‘Great Escape’.

Nine years on the versatile left-sided player believes Fulham can emulate that Albion side and survive against the odds. Fulham have taken two points from the last 24 and are four points from safety after Saturday’s 3-1 home defeat to Chelsea, but Richardson said the focus was already on next week’s visit to fellow-strugglers Cardiff.

“The manager [Felix Magath] came in after the game and said 'it's gone now, it's finished; we've got to move on because Cardiff is a massive game'. And he's right.

“Cardiff was always going to be a big one. It will be hard going there because they're fighting for survival too. They're at home and their fans are going to be up for it as well. But we've got to go there, play our game, hopefully win.

“You have to keep the faith. After a result like Chelsea you can't afford for your heads to go down and to be thinking about that rather than the next game.

“I know from what happened with West Brom that you can turn it round with a couple of results. The lads all know it's not that far off. If we can get four or five points or so we'd be out of the relegation zone. There's 10 games to go, that's 30 points, a lot to play for.”

Richardson added he hoped £12m record signing Kostas Mitroglou, dropped by Magath for lack of condition, would soon be able to contribute to the relegation fight. “He's looking for his fitness but he's a good finisher. The manager is working with him. We need him as soon as possible. I hope he's the sort of player who can make the difference for us. Hopefully he'll come in and do the business. The club spent a lot of money on him and we're expecting him to do well.”