Scott Parker determined to get Aleksandar Mitrovic fit for Fulham promotion decider

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Scott Parker says he will do all he can to ensure top scorer Aleksandar Mitrovic is fit to help fire Fulham to the Premier League in next week’s Championship play-off final.

Fulham had to battle to set up an all-London showdown with Brentford at Wembley on Tuesday, with their classy display on Monday ensuring that last night’s second-leg defeat by Cardiff did not stop them from reaching their goal.

Mitrovic, who won the Championship Golden Boot with 26 goals, has been nursing a slight hamstring problem which ruled him out of both legs of the semi-final but Parker is optimistic his talisman will be back for the final.

“I’m hopeful,” said Parker. “He was close last night but not good enough. It would have been a massive risk.

“We pushed and pushed, and the medical team did everything they could but he wasn’t ready. So it would have been too great a risk to involve him.

“He’ll be working now over the next few days and we’ll just do everything we can to try to have him ready.”

An early Curtis Nelson goal for the visitors set the tone for the night as Fulham’s aggregate lead was halved after eight minutes. Neeskens Kebano scored just 24 seconds after play had resumed to pull Fulham level but they could not kick on as Neil Harris’s side bombarded and frustrated them.

Lee Tomlin scored two minutes after coming on at the start of the second half to cut Fulham’s aggregate lead to just one goal but despite near constant

pressure and some significant scares, Parker’s side survived to move within 90 minutes of a return to the Premier League at the first time of asking.

Parker has built a side who are at their best playing an attractive, free-flowing brand of football, but they had to cast that aside in the second half last night as they rolled up their sleeves and battled to the finish. Parker said: “We’ll need the ingredient I saw at times last night, and that ingredient is a real mentality about you that when the going gets tough, technical ability goes out the window.

Marching on: Fulham booked their place in the Play-Off Final on Thursday night
Getty Images

“There are points in matches that are about an understanding of the moment. It becomes an understanding that ‘I need something to fall back on’, and last night was a prime example of that. That’s what we’ll need again in the final.”

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