Fulham boss Roy Hodgson claimed his players were off the pace during the 3-0 home win over Blackburn in the Premier League on Wednesday night. The Cottagers managed to take a lead into half-time thanks to Erik Nevland, who converted virtually their first chance of the game on 43 minutes, before Clint Dempsey’s second-half brace made the win look comfortable at the full-time whistle. But Hodgson felt visiting Rovers played their full part in the game as their two-game winning run came to an end in west London. The former Ewood Park chief said: “The first 40 minutes was not the sort of game you like to watch because the ball was all up in the air. "We hoped to get the ball down but credit to Blackburn because they kept us pinned down and stopped us doing what we wanted to do. "Fortunately, we had the fight and character to stay in the game and then we had one moment in the first half where we scored a good goal." The Cottagers’ fourth home win in the league this season saw them climb to 10th place. But Hodgson added: "We are tired, there is an element of that but having said that we are all playing three matches."