Rene Meulensteen admitted Fulham were made to pay for not taking their chances after they were hammered at home by Sunderland .
Steve Sidwell's second-half header couldn't prevent a heavy 4-1 defeat for the Cottagers as Adam Johnson's hat-trick helped earn the visitors the point.
Dimitar Berbatov and Adel Taarabt both squandered good opportunities to give the home side the lead before Johnson's free-kick put Sunderland ahead.
And while Fulham's leaky defence is a big problem - they have conceded the most goals in the Premier League - Meulensteen says they need to be more clinical at the other end of the pitch.
He said: “These are the chances you have to take. It was a quality cross [from Riether]. Adel had a chance when he maybe could have squared it, but it was a quality save as well. If you get your noses in front, it’s a lot easier.
“In home games especially, you can’t afford to go behind. We were dominating the game and looked quite comfortable and then you’re back peddling."
Fulham remain clear of the drop zone despite the defeat, but face difficult games against Arsenal, Swansea, Southampton, Manchester United next.
Meulensteen added: “We know we have a challenge on our hands. We didn’t think for one moment we’d turned a corner.
"It’s so tight down there – if we’d won we could have gone up to 13th. That’s why you have to take it game by game and address the situation and pick up points whenever you can.
"In general, the performances have improved. But the quality into the final third and conceding is a problem.”
