Fulham boss Jean Tigana admits he will be glad to see the back of 2002 - but insists the new year holds no relegation fears for him.
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Fulham Manager
Jean Tigana
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The Frenchman has now taken the unusual step of urging his faltering team to produce the passion shown by opponents West Brom in order to hoist themselves up the Premiership table.
Fulham go into the Loftus Road clash with the joint-bottom Baggies on the back of a miserable run which has seen them tumble to 16th, just five points above the drop zone.
Tigana readily admits December has been a month to forget - but he also bemoans his strikers' bad luck, both regarding their finishing power and injuries.
"I'm happy it's the New Year because this month has been very difficult for us as we've been very unlucky many, many times," he said.
"I never worry about relegation - so I'm not worried about that, although we do need a change of luck.
"We've played well and not made big mistakes. But we've made one mistake and lost against Blackburn, West Ham and Manchester City - when it was possible to win.
"We've also been very unlucky with injuries, as I've had to play midfielder Steed Malbranque up front as we had nothing else."
Tigana, asked if he felt Gary Megson's gameplan was based on hard work and passion, said: "Yes, that's right - but we need to have that as well.
"I hope that we'll win against West Brom, as it's a very, very, very important game for the club.
"I hope the crowd will be behind us as we're absolutely trying to win this most important game."