Fulham’s attitude and character was praised by Slavisa Jokanovic after they had come from behind to draw 1-1 against Watford, but he admitted his side were fortunate not to concede more goals in the first half.

The Craven Cottage were a clear second best in the opening period, but the Hornets’ inability to build on Andre Gray’s early opener gave the former Watford boss’ side hope after the break.

Jokanovic, as he did during his time at the Vicarage Road helm, was not afraid to change his starting line-up if it wasn’t working and a double substitution at the break helped lead to a better display from the hosts and an equaliser for Aleksandar Mitrovic.

“We weren’t working good enough in the opening 45 minutes,” the Fulham boss admitted. “We started really sloppily and gave them the chance for the first goal after one-and-a-half minutes, similar to the last game against [Manchester] City. We started really confused and they were faster.

“They played long ball but they didn’t need to fight for the second phase because they always protect the ball and play in our our last third of the pitch. Fortunately, they didn’t score some more goals in the first half.

“In the second half we started to be a little bit more offensive and the team showed a great attitude and character and start to move the ball a little bit better. We pushed and scored the goal and at the end we could have finished it with three points if we a little bit more lucky.

“I believe the result was fair but with this kind of sloppy start you can pay a really, really expensive price if you are not focused and concentrated for the whole game.”

Asked about his half-time changes which saw Denis Odoi and Floyd Ayite replace Alfie Mawson and captain Kevin McDonald, Jokanovic said: “I made two changes, but in the end it’s not a question about one player or another player or what I changed.

"I try to support my team and make a little bit of a difference, but credit to the team, they showed a different level in the second 45 minutes and changed the story.”