Clive Mason/Getty ImagesAlexander Kacaniklic scored Fulham's second goal Tuesday

I hadn't been poking my binoculars through the branches at Motspur, nor was I privy to any inside information about goings-on inside the club, but the obvious step up in urgency we saw against Swansea translated into a very welcome three points to kick off 2013 at the Hawthorns Tuesday.

As I felt moved to predict in my last blog, I sensed Fulham had indeed touched bottom, and things were about to improve. Martin Jol has made changes and dropped those badly out of form - now he can get down to dealing in the market while also looking for a swift return to action from Damien Duff and Mladen Petric.

Yes, Fulham rode their luck in turning over their high-flying opponents, but we’ve rarely had the rub of the green over recent weeks, and the side showed both composure in nullifying West Brom, and character in coming back from their leveller to grab a vital away win.

Christmas week started in abysmal fashion, but by the end of four hugely contrasting games fans had a sense of belief again after neat finishes from Dimitar Berbatov and Alexander Kacaniklic saw Fulham do the double over the Baggies.

Another stumble between now and spring I guess is inevitable, but during the glut of games over the festive period you can get trapped into tunnel vision just following your club's ups and downs. After getting over the disappointment at the Swansea loss I spent some time analysing how those around us were faring. Well, if Fulham haven’t been putting points on the board, nor has anyone else below them made any significant move.

Like previous seasons, there’s surely time for the Hammers, Stoke and Swansea to lose a bit of form, and I can well see the Whites sneaking back up the table as the days grow longer.

If strong words have been spoken behind closed doors, that's well and good. Displays of the like served up in the past month are simply unacceptable from any Fulham eleven, I don’t care who the manager is. I’m all for Jol cracking the whip if needed – extra training too for the slackers (you know who you are). Let’s please keep the momentum going for the Cup match and the upcoming Wigan game, and we can start looking forward to trekking down to the Cottage again. Five more wins would nail survival, and with QPR, Reading and Wigan still to come to the Cottage that’s surely a task we should feel comfortable with.

Longer term, we’ll await firm news of which transfer targets turn out to be true. The money is on the table, Jol and his men have had a timely reminder of where holes need to be plugged. We all know January is a poor market to go shopping in, but we’ve sailed way too close to the wind already since the departures of last season – a couple of significant signings at least are called for.

Meanwhile, console yourselves as I have done - enjoying the meltdown at Villa, the travails at Sunderland and Newcastle - but even as I finish off this piece QPR come up with a timely reminder that ‘Arry may yet pull off the most outrageous act in football since the ‘Hand of God’ should he dig Rangers out of their hole. Let’s have those 40 points ASAP please Fulham so we can all sleep easy.

Twitter@fulhamphil

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