Sean Davis claims many people at Fulham are happy to play Derby

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Fulham were minutes away from playing Middlesbrough in the Championship play-offs.

Craven Cottage favourite Sean Davis has written in his column on the club’s official website that many people at Fulham were happy to get Derby County in the play-offs as they were minutes away from facing Middlesbrough.

Fulham headed into their last game of the campaign chasing Cardiff City for the second automatic promotion spot, yet a 3-1 defeat at Birmingham City meant they were resigned to the Championship play-offs.

Slavisa Jokanovic’s men were guaranteed third, therefore all eyes were then on results elsewhere, as potential opponents included Derby County, Middlesbrough and Preston North End who were chasing sixth spot.

With Derby beating Barnsley 4-1, a Middlesbrough defeat at Ipswich meant it would have been Tony Pulis’s men for Fulham but a last-minute equaliser at Portman Road saw Boro reclaim fifth spot ahead of the Rams.

Writing in his column for Fulhamfc.com, Davis admits the west London club had a preference to play Derby instead of Boro and claims they were ultimately happy to draw Gary Rowett’s men in the semi-finals.

“It looked for a while on Sunday as though we might be playing Middlesbrough, and a lot of people were happy it ended up being Derby, but it doesn’t matter who you’re against, the play-off matches are always going to be tough,” the former midfielder wrote.

Fulham took four points off both Derby and Boro this season, yet other factors such as form and the distance to the Riverside Stadium meant it was probably more beneficial for them to face the Rams.

Boro, who will play Aston Villa in the other semi-final, head in to the play-offs having won three of their last four games, beating fellow top six contenders Derby, Millwall and Bristol City.

The Rams on the other hand have won four of their last 16 league games, so it comes as little surprise to see them ranked as 5/1 outsiders with bookmakers to go all the way and secure a return to the Premier League.