Scott Parker said he can “see no reason why” Aleksandar Mitrovic would not be a Fulham player next season.
Fulham have struggled at the top end of the pitch, scoring just 27 goals this season ahead of the final match against Newcastle on Sunday, while only one club, rock-bottom Sheffield United, have netted fewer.
Aleksandar Mitrovic has, as even Parker admitted, not had the season he would have wanted on his return to the top flight, despite netting 26 times in 41 appearances on his way to the Sky Bet Championship golden boot last term.
This season he has scored three goals, although Parker does not expect him to depart Craven Cottage this summer.
“I see no reason why (Mitrovic would not be here next season),” Parker said.
“He’s under contract. I’m not sure how long he has got but he’s got a considerable amount of time on his contract. I don’t see why that won’t be the case.”
The Fulham boss had been dismissive of questions concerning his own future at the club following his side’s relegation from the Premier League, but on Friday insisted he remains committed to Craven Cottage.
“As always, I’m committed, I’ve been committed since day one,” Parker said.
“My aim is and my ambition is to make this football club as strong and as successful as possible.
“That will always be my ambition. That’s never changed.”
Fulham had turned their season around from conceding 10 goals in their opening three matches and over the winter they managed to close a 10-point gap to safety to just two points.
However, towards the end of the season they fell short, securing just one point from seven as their relegation fate was sealed.
Reflecting on the season as a whole, Parker said: “I think we had a 20-day turnaround from Wembley to then coming back in, the days were very, very short.
“We went into this season with a very young squad. An inexperienced squad. I’ve said it before, but I think our highest Premier League appearance player was Ruben Loftus-Cheek.
“It was going to be a challenge for us. I think we understood that. At the start of the season, getting to grips with this league and trying to get a team together that could quickly be competitive was a challenge.
“I think that is the disappointing factor at the end of the season. Because I felt that the players and the team improved drastically. We became very competitive. Defensively, we became more solid.
“Of course as quickly as that came along then, all of a sudden, we found ourselves getting a lot of draws, so we needed to win football matches and try and score some goals. We have probably fallen a bit short in that area.”
