Skipper Danny Murphy is hoping that the Whites' first away win of the season can be a catalyst for an improvement in the team's away form in the league.

Fulham saw off Championship side Sheffield Wednesday with two Andy Johnson goals at Hillsborough in the FA Cup - ending a seven month wait for a win on the road.

And with a winnable away tie against Blue Square side Kettering Town to come, a place in the fifth round beckons.

"The away win is nice because it shows that we can do it," Murphy told the Gazette.

"Away from home recently we haven't had a win despite the good performances we put in at Anfield, Villa and Tottenham.

"But those results have given us plenty of confidence to be going on with anyway even though the stats suggest we've only scored two and haven't won away.

"There are many teams who will go to the places we've been to recently and not pick up the points that we did. We're on a good run, we're confident, we're enjoying our football and long may it continue.

"Of course we've been disappointed with the away results, but our home form has kind of made up for that. If we can maintain the home form and nick a few wins on the road, then who knows where we can finish at the end of the season."

Murphy continued: "It's about not getting carried away. We were in a predicament last season where we were fighting for our lives all season so we are not going to try and run before we can walk.

"We need to have a stable season and maintain a comfortable position and not start talking stupidly about European qualification as I think that would be a bit naive.

"We've got to be careful. The way the league is this year, you know that a few bad results and you can find yourselves back in trouble.

"We've got to be humble and keep our foot on the gas because the last thing we want to do is spoil a good run and end up putting ourselves in trouble.

"There's good competition for places now and everybody in the club now thinks we're progressing. I think if you look back over the year where we were at the beginning of 2008 we've come a long way.

"We fight to the end, even against Chelsea when in the second half they over-ran us a bit. For us to show the spirit at 2-1 down, looking like it was over, to come back and grab a draw and play well showed great character.

"We wouldn't have done that last season for sure. Also, you need a bit of luck because we've had only one or two injuries along the way and none of them have been long-term - so we've been able to maintain a settled side and that does help.

"It keeps the rhythm and everybody comfortable in their positions and knowing each other's game."

Murphy is targeting a successful run in the FA Cup this season to go along with the team's good league perfor

mances. Fulham are unbeaten in nine league games and there is no intention to slacken in the FA Cup in order to concentrate on the Premier League campaign.

"Personally I'm a big lover of the FA Cup," Murphy said.

"I remember watching the FA Cup finals growing up and I can probably name most of the winners over the last 20 years.

"I'm fortunate that I've played in one and won a final [with Liverpool in 2001] and whilst it wasn't at Wembley it was still a wonderful memory to have and nobody can ever take that away from me.

"Those people who want to belittle the cup, and say it doesn't mean this and that, it's down to them but I'm personally a big lover of it and those players that have won a cup medal will tell you that it's something they cherish.

"When you've finished your career you don't want to look back and think: 'That year we finished eighth in the Premiership but rested everyone in the cup'. You look back and think 'What did I win? I didn't play in any finals, did I win any medals?'

"I think last season you saw with Portsmouth winning the FA Cup and the big teams going out at different stages, that anything can happen. You never know. Why can't we be one of those teams who have a good crack at it? You only need a bit of luck.

"A few years ago Millwall got to the final without playing a Premiership team.

"Who's to say that we can't have that luck? Even when we play the bigger teams now we are confident."

Match Summary SHEFF WED (1) 1 FULHAM (1) 2 Line-up: Schwarzer; Stoor, Hughes, Hangeland, Konchesky; Dempsey, Murphy, Etuhu, Gray; Johnson, Zamora (Nevland 69). Subs not used: Zuberbühler, Pantsil, Kallio, Baird, Andreasen. Attendance: 18,377. GOALS: Johnson (12, 88), Spurr (21). MoM: Andy Johnson

Next Up

BLACKBURN

Craven Cottage Saturday 3pm Premier League

Manager: Sam Allardyce (above) Position last season: 7th Form Guide: Allardyce made an instant impact as Rovers beat Stoke 3-0, then held Sunderland and Man City to draws. But they are still in the bottom three and desperate for wins to ease them up the table after a damaging run of 12 games without a win that preceded the win against Stoke. Their away record is identical to their home record, with two wins, three draws and five defeats. The wins came at Everton (3-2 on the opening day) and at Newcastle (2-1) with defeats coming at West Ham (1-4),Aston Villa (2-3), Tottenham (0-1),Portsmouth (2-3) and Wigan (0-3) - the result which ended Paul Ince's reign as Blackburn boss.

Players to look out for: Roque Santa Cruz has not set the Premier League alight as he did last season but he has still been the subject of transfer speculation. Benni McCarthy and Jason Roberts are able strikers if the Paraguayan is missing.

Most recent meetings: Blackburn Rvs 1-0 Fulham (20 Sep 2008); Blackburn Rvs 1-1 Fulham (8 Mar 2008); Fulham 2-2 Blackburn Rvs (25 Nov 2007) - PL. Head-to-head record: FFC Wins: 24 BR Wins: 32 Draws: 22

Match Facts: Fulham seek their first win in six clashes with Rovers. They were beaten by a late goal from Matt Derbyshire when the sides met at Ewood Park in September. Fulham's last win came in December 2005 when Papa Bouba Diop and Luis Boa Morte netted in a 2-1 win. In the Premier League era, there have been two wins and three defeats for Fulham at the Cottage against Rovers.

Forecast: Fulham must fancy their chances of maintaining their superb home form with a win. 

Gazette forecast success rate: 9 correct out of 21 (43%).