Fulham midfielder Sylvain Legwinski has attributed Saturday's surprise win at Tottenham to a new defensive mentality in away games.
Legwinski and his team-mates were defeated 3-1 at Everton on their first trip of the new Premiership season.
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Fulham midfielder
Sylvain Legwinski |
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So boss Chris Coleman told his men to concentrate on a clean sheet when they went to White Hart Lane last weekend and promptly saw them brush Spurs aside in a 3-0 victory.
"We're all happy with this new way we're playing," said Legwinski.
"The fact is that, for two years, we have struggled to get results away from home, and I think that was mostly because we were trying to play too much football - we lost many games because of that.
"After Everton, we decided it had to stop and against Tottenham we developed a more defensive spirit."
Last season, the Cottagers won just twice on their league travels - only Aston Villa and Sunderland fared worse away than home.
In the Spurs game, Legwinski thought he might have broken his nose in a first-half challenge but was relieved to learn it was not that serious.
"Fortunately, it wasn't broken," said Legwinski. "I think it was Simon Davies who took a shot, and as I passed in front of him he put his arm out to keep his balance, and he caught me in the nose. It bled a lot and is bruised, but it's not serious."
The 30-year-old former Bordeaux man is certainly happy with life at Loftus Road at present and says the pre-season doom-mongers have actually helped the club.
"I think it's good for us," he added. "Now we're in a team where everybody else thinks we're going down, it makes me even more proud to play for Fulham and fight for this club.
"Team spirit is very good at the moment. We've all been here for a few years now, and everybody knows each other well and the mix between all the different nationalities is getting better and better every day.
"I'm very pleased to be at Fulham. I know a lot of the papers said that the French contingent would leave because of Jean Tigana's departure, but all they do is guess at what's happening, and as everyone can see now it just wasn't true," he told the club website.