WHAT WAS THE MOST poignant moment of the day? Was it the shot of Terry Venables, the Leeds United manager, sitting next to Peter Ridsdale, his chairman, both of them staring straight ahead, ashen-faced? Was it the sight of Paul Robinson, the Leeds goalkeeper, arching his back, making incredible double saves to no avail? No, the most telling moment came in the ITV studio on The Premiership later on Saturday evening, when Ron Atkinson, a long-standing pundit friend of the beleaguered manager, said that Leeds were, contrary to Venables’s assertion, definitely in relegation trouble.

For a man who must be feeling isolated, forlorn and mighty frustrated, Venables is holding his chin high. There was a time when management was about having a bit of a laugh, socialising with the players, chuckling with the media. These days Venables, by his own admission, barely has time for management. His job is one of damage-limitation, of juggling with a frightening injury list, of coping with the high expectations, dealing with a high-profile, under-fire chairman and bickering within the ranks.

“I’ve never known a time like it ever and I’ve been a coach, well manager, for 27 years. It’s freaky. I genuinely am not looking for excuses, I’m not,” Venables said. Much of what he said he tempered with the phrase: “I’m not looking for excuses.” But some excuses do exist. There is no doubt he inherited a team suffering unrest. The most recent example came courtesy of Olivier Dacourt, who, in the build-up to this game, labelled the team’s recent efforts “a disgrace”.

“It’s very unusual,” Venables said of Dacourt’s outburst. “It’s very damaging to the team. It lacks respect to the players and the club. He says he would like to go to Italy and if that’s possible, I think it’s fair to say I would drive him there personally. The players have worked hard and he’s not typical of what the players are about at the moment.”

At least Dacourt gave Venables an opportunity to turn a criticism into a compliment. Yet there was little evidence of impressive work-rate from his team at Loftus Road. Robinson and Jonathan Woodgate were the only players who seemed intent on giving their all. The rest were either petulant or disinterested. It is not as if Venables has never faced a mountain before. Indeed, he was invited to Middlesbrough two years ago to stop the rot and he did just enough to save them.

“I went to Middlesbrough about this time (in the season) and in the end, just by getting draws, maybe winning one, losing, then drawing, it bred confidence and we never really got down. Six weeks in pre-season is when you lay down foundations and I had eight or nine days (at Leeds). I am not looking to make excuses.”

Venables had to partner Alan Smith, who had a stomach bug and could not last the game, with Michael Bridges, who has been out for two years because of injury. “It’s just matching and patching at the moment,” Venables said.

But Jean Tigana, the Fulham manager, was matching and patching, too. He was without four first-choice forwards and his team were sliding out of form. Yet Fulham exhibited gusto and, although they squandered too many chances for comfort, thoroughly deserved the three points.

At the hub of it all was Bjarne Goldbaek, rarely offered 90 minutes by Tigana but who shone all the brighter because the Leeds midfield were so drab. In fact, Goldbaek’s inventive passing and solidity made for an attractive contrast with the instinctive play of Sylvain Legwinski and the pace of Luis Boa Morte. Although Leeds were never really in the match, the fact that Fulham took an early lead through Martin Djetou and then failed to capitalise on the pressure they applied made for a more nailbiting finale than either set of fans deserved.

Fulham (4-4-2): E van der Sar 6 — S Finnan 6, A Melville 6, M Djetou 7, R Brevett 6 — B Goldbaek 8, S Legwinski 6, S Davis 6, P Womé 5 — S Malbranque 7, L Boa Morte 6. Substitutes not used: M Taylor, J Inamoto, Z Knight, C Willock, A Stolcers. Booked: Legwinski, Davis, Womé. NEXT: Birmingham City (h). FORM: WLWDLL

Leeds United (4-4-2): P Robinson 8 — G Kelly 5, J Woodgate 6, M Duberry 4, I Harte 4 (sub: D Mills, 73min) — E Bakke 4, P Okon 4, S McPhail 3 (sub: J Milner, 57 5), J Wilcox 3 — M Bridges 5, A Smith 4 (sub: R Fowler, 46 4). Substitutes not used: N Martyn, T Lucic. Booked: Woodgate, Wilcox, Bakke. NEXT: Bolton Wanderers (a). FORM: LLLLWL

Shots on target: (h) 4 (a) 4. Fouls: (h) 10 (a) 14. Offsides: (h) 1 (a) 5