Despite having twice as many shots on target as Bournemouth, the Cottagers fell to a 1-0 loss on Monday night in a hard-fought game at the Vitality Stadium. The result saw the Cherries leapfrog the Fulham and Brighton into eighth in the Premier League as the race for Europe heats up.
With the likes of Chelsea, Manchester United, Arsenal, Aston Villa and Tottenham still fighting in Europe there is a chance that up to 11 Premier League teams will European place for next season. Leno revealed that he remains hopeful in the final six games of the season.
“We have six games to go and we are still in touch to go to Europe, so I think that says everything. All our games are very tight, and if we can get more consistency and have a winning streak, win a couple of games in a row, I think we go for sure to Europe.
“But that’s the Premier League, it's all about details, margins, and hopefully we can win a couple more games in the last six.”
Leno will be in goal for Fulham’s next clash against Chelsea as they aim for the double after a 2-1 win on Boxing Day. A win here would seriously help their chances of Europe and could propel them into eighth position.
“We had a fantastic game on Boxing Day against Chelsea,” Leno recalled. “We won last minute at Stamford Bridge.
“We have a couple more days to prepare. Chelsea play on Thursday in the Conference League so they will lose a little bit of energy, but we expect a top side.
“I think Chelsea is a top, top team, and we need a perfect game to beat them at home.”