Herita Ilunga expects the team to "show a lot of character" when Fulham arrive for a Barclays Premier League London derby this coming Sunday.
The DR Congo defender was speaking after his third game in a week since returning from a facial injury that had kept him out since the first day of the season. As such, Ilunga acquitted himself well in a difficult 3-1 defeat by against a Manchester City side who will provide a stern test for most top-flight teams this season.
He said: "We were up against a strong team with some great individual players, that's obvious. We started on the wrong foot. We tried to play and to get forward and we managed to get an equaliser [through Carlton Cole]. Unfortunately they then started pushing us back and got the second goal.
"We started the second half with a lot of good intentions, we tried hard, but you could see why they've had a lot of success. They get forward very quickly and they got their third goal."
Despite the reverse, Ilunga is focused on the positives. "Looking forward, we need to show a lot of character because this is a difficult period for us," he said. "But last year we had a difficult spell too and we need to put a good run together and I hope it starts on Sunday against Fulham.
"We're a team that plays very good football. You see it in training - we work a lot, the coaches insist on us playing football, keeping the ball, good possession. But we need to play and win at the same time - it's not enough to just play. We need results too.
"It is a state of mind. We need to get back our winning mentality. We have to defend together, first of all, and then keep hold of he ball and get forward at the opposition. It is very important we get ourselves right mentally, recover our calm. We need to find the right spirit together and I hope it will happen at the weekend in front of our own fans. It's very important."