Fulham defender Brede Hangeland admits they couldn't handle Andy Carroll for Saturday's defeat at West Ham United.

Norway international Hangeland, 31, was hoping to deal with the aerial threat of Carroll but admitted the poor start meant an improved second-half performance counted for nothing.

"We expected to have a lot of possession but we did not defend well enough on the things we knew they were good at, so that is something that needs to improve," he told .

"It was the worst possible start and we gave ourselves a big mountain to climb; too big.

"We lost the game in the first half and even though we improved in the second half there was too much work to do."