Nathaniel Chalobah gives honest assessment of Fulham’s 1-0 defeat at West Brom

Fulham’s title charge was stalled a touch by West Bromwich Albion on Tuesday evening, the fellow newly relegated side got the better of the Cottagers to a 1-0 scoreline at The Hawthorns.

Callum Robinson scored the only goal of the game in the 63rd minute to earn Steve Bruce his first victory in the home dugout.

Nathaniel Chalobah replaced Jean-Michael Seri in Marco Silva’s only alteration from the side’s 1-1 draw at Barnsley on Saturday lunchtime.

The Chelsea academy graduate struggled to assert his authority on proceedings with the Cottagers enduring a very sluggish first half display.

The 27-year-old shared his reaction to the loss when he spoke to The Athletic.

Chalobah said: “It is a kick up the backside really.

“We can’t rest on our laurels, we still have a lot to do.

“I’m disappointed in myself.

“I could have done a bit better.

“Marek (Rodak) was outstanding.

“He kept us in the game, especially from the first half.

“He was quite unlucky with the goal as well.”

The international break has come at a good time for the Cottagers, providing an opportunity to rest and reset before going again in their promotion pursuit.

It will be interesting to see how often Chalobah is selected by Silva in the run-in, after failing to make the desired impact at The Hawthorns.

The Verdict

In the long run, this two game stretch of disappointing results could merely serve as a timely reminder that Fulham cannot take their foot off the gas just yet and that they will be punished if they let their performance levels drop.

Silva and the squad have proven that they can bounce back in electric fashion previously this season, and it would not be a surprise to anyone to see the Cottagers go on a winning run after the break.

Tom Cairney and Seri