Álvaro Arbeloa bristled at suggestions he cannot handle the pressure after Fulham’s at Ipswich extended their winless start in the Premier League to six matches. The former Real Madrid manager was minutes away from a first managerial victory in the competition after Ryan Sessegnon’s brilliant 55th-minute strike, but the visitors collapsed late on in abject fashion.
Abdoul Ouattara produced a thunderbolt from 30 yards to level for Ipswich after 88 minutes and Dara O’Shea headed home Jack Clarke’s free-kick in the second minute of stoppage time to consign Fulham to a painful loss.
With Fulham facing another week in the relegation zone, Arbeloa pushed back at suggestions he is feeling the scrutiny, saying: “I never worry about my position.
“I don’t feel fear. You cannot be a coach if you feel it. You have to work, take the decision and you need to show confidence to your players. I am so happy with many things they are doing. I know it is not easy for them.
“It’s not about my position, it is about Fulham’s position. That is the most important thing. It is just six games, but it is true we need points.”
Arbeloa walked straight down the tunnel at full-time after shaking hands with his opposite number, Gary O’Neil. Fulham are seven points behind promoted Ipswich as they switch focus to Saturday’s visit of Hull.
Asked how he would block out the noise, Arbeloa said: “Maybe you don’t know me, but I played for the best team in world. I have coached the best team in the world. Maybe you don’t know, but just to let you know, that pressure is part of my life since I was a kid.
“It is normal in football. It is normal for players, it is normal for coaches and everybody that is around a team. Pressure is something that is important for me and I like it.”
This defeat made it four league losses this season for Fulham and they have conceded after 75 minutes in matches with Sunderland, Crystal Palace, Manchester United and now Ipswich.
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O’Neil struck a different tone after he celebrated a third victory of the campaign with substitutes Chuba Akpom and Clarke able to make telling contributions during a dramatic finale.
“On the result, I’m proud of the players and proud of the way we finished the game,” O’Neil said. “They showed exactly what they are – together, hard-working, have quality, never going to stop.
“Looked fitter than the opposition, I thought. The last 20 minutes, it looked like they were starting to tire and we were able to keep pushing. The subs helped with that.
“That Fulham side have been in the Premier League for a while now and for us to be able to compete with them the way we did was impressive.”
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