Hodgson needs numbers

Fulham boss Roy Hodgson is hoping he will be allowed to add to his threadbare squad over the summer. The Cottagers currently work with one of the smallest senior set-ups in the Premier League, with financial constraints restricting their capabilities.Despite the lack of money, the capital club have fared admirably this season and could yet secure a top half finish.That will provide a solid platform on which to build, with Hodgson already turning his attention to bolstering his numbers once the transfer window reopens.He saw the Cottagers slip to a 2-1 defeat against Blackburn in midweek, after leading at the interval, and believes his players are beginning to show the strain of a long, hard season."We've not had many opportunities to rest recently but we've had two days to try and lick our wounds and get some energy back into the players," said Hodgson."Of course it concerns me because Blackburn had 10 or 11 days to prepare for the last game, we didn't and that showed."I think we tired more than they did."We have a very small squad and we've lost a few through injury. We always knew we'd be stretched if we got a couple of injuries and the fatigue factor was always going to be a problem for us as well."Next season I'm hoping the squad will be both bigger and stronger."StrengthHodgson is hoping lessons will be learned from the failing against Rovers, with Saturday's opponents Bolton likely to present a similar physical test."Bolton are a team who pressurise the ball well and get it forward early," he added."Like Blackburn, they use their strength of their front players, their height and their good aerial ability to their advantage."In that respect we've had a good warning of what is to come and we will try once again to deal with it. "We've got to pick ourselves up from these last two defeats, three defeats counting the cup game, because I've always said we can't afford to stop looking over our shoulder."

Source: SKY_Sports