Nigeria and Fulham class defender Calvin Bassey insists motivations remain as high as ever in the Fulham camp, in spite of the difficult matches in to in recent campaign.

After three matches without a win in all competitions, Premier League Productions asked if the team had ‘lost their edge’ – a notion that Bassey quickly shut down.

“No, I don’t feel like there’s no edge,” he said. “The edge hasn’t been lost. I feel like the Manager would never let us lose it.

“When you see him, when he speaks, he’s so passionate every single time, every single session, and he’s honestly like that every time on the pitch, until the last game of the season, he’s on us. And I think that helps us to stay motivated, as well as motivating ourselves.

“We feel like we’re so close to our goal, so for us, the atmosphere in the changing room is excitement, because we know we’ve got a chance to do something amazing, achieve something great, so we’re just taking each game as it is.

“Sounds a bit cliché, but it’s honestly all we can do. We’re just focused on ending the season strong and finishing where we want to finish. That’s the most important thing for us.”

Bassey has made no secret of his desire to secure European qualification with Fulham, something that remains firmly in his sights with 24 points still up for grabs.

“If you look at the last two/three seasons, we’ve been in and around it, and then the last four/five games it’s sort of got away from us, [but] we’re right there now,” the defender stated. “We’ve got eight games left and I feel like we can really push and achieve it.

“We’re four points behind seventh, so it’s all very close, that’s why each game matters, and each point matters.”

A European finish is not out of reach, he added.

“I don’t think it’s ruled out. We take each game as it comes, anything can happen. I haven’t had a chance to look at the table and see where the other teams are at. The most important thing was that we didn’t lose this game, and we didn’t lose the game. We just take each game as it comes, and hopefully things will work in our favour as well.”

The next opportunity for points sees us host Burnley at a sold out Craven Cottage on Saturday.

Asked what victory in that one would do for our ambitions, Bassey replied: “It would make a big difference. I checked the table and we’d jump about three spaces with three points, of course if other results go in our favour.

“Each point is so vital at this stage, and for us it’s just making sure we do everything we can to win the game.”

Bassey had a chance to score in Fulham’s goalless draw at Nottingham Forest last Sunday.

Bassey is of the opinion that Fulham’s defence deserves some credit for their line.

“Great line! Of course, we always try to keep a good line and we managed to do that. Obviously, there’s a bit of luck as well, it was marginal, by a boot or something, but that’s what VAR’s for.”