I HAVE good memories of Craven Cottage. From my first visit, when a young whipper-snapper called Simon Garner bagged his first Rovers goals in a 2-1 victory, to last season's comfortable 1-0 win, a trip to Fulham nearly always ends in a pleasant trip home.

An unexpected FA Cup replay win in 1980; a topsy-turvy 3-3 draw in 1986; a late Keith Gillespie chip in Graeme Souness' first game; a cracker from Rubén Rochina in 2011, all live long in the memory.

MORE TOP STORIES:

But two games, one not even at the Cottage, spring to mind and reflect our current malaise, not just because they too were televised on Sky Sports.

Firstly in the 2000-01 season where after a decent start Rovers had taken just one point from 12 and faced three league games in seven days. Fulham were flying high with maximum points from their nine games.

Rovers began brightly, Matt Jansen gave us the lead and, but for two awful misses from Nathan Blake, we could have gone in at half-time at least two up, rather than concede a soft equaliser.

But, more important in the long term than the eventual 2-1 defeat was the fighting spirit shown by most of the side. The idle few suffered the wrath of Souness and were either dropped or shipped out.

Rovers won the following two games - indeed six in a row - and only lost three more games until their eventual promotion in May. No-one is saying that any repeat of this is likely, given the current circumstances, but a similar will-to-win attitude would help.

Three years later Rovers had lost three in a row - including two at home to fellow relegation candidates - and were in serious trouble when they faced Fulham.

In front of just under 14,000 at Loftus Road Rovers’ defence wobbled and as a result were 2-1 down at half-time and staring the bottom three in the face. In the second half an unchanged Rovers side came out and won a thrilling match 4-3, through both resilience and flair.

The first game ignited our season, despite defeat, and proved to the fans - and those players willing to show endeavour - that we could live with the best team in the division. The second fixture proved that if you are stronger in attack than in defence then it's perhaps better to attack and rely on fortune favouring the brave.

Craig Short played in both of those games. It may be time for him to channel his old manager and make plain a few home truths. Labour and skill are not exclusive; it says so on our badge. Let’s hope Rovers employ both qualities on Sunday.