Fulham suffered another agonising derby day defeat to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Saturday, but the return of Kenny Tete to the starting line-up was welcomed by the travelling support.
After starring for so much of last season under Marco Silva, Tete has found himself in competition with Timothy Castagne for a starting spot this year after picking up an injury at the beginning of the campaign.
Speaking on The 2 Robbies Podcast, Robbie Mustoe hailed the impact of the Dutch defender even if he couldn’t prevent Fulham’s loss at the weekend.
Considering how emphatically Fulham won the Championship 18 months ago, the team seem to really struggle when forced to play three matches in a week.
They couldn’t have been handed a shorter turnaround, heading home from Anfield after a Wednesday night Carabao Cup tie before walking about at Stamford Bridge for the early kick-off on Saturday.
The Whites didn’t produce their best performance but almost didn’t need to as Chelsea’s mediocre campaign continues.
A late first-half penalty from Cole Palmer ended up deciding the tie after a poor challenge from Issa Diop.
Silva only made three changes to his Fulham team against Chelsea and Kenny Tete was one of them.
The £3m full-back earned praise for his performance but will need to really stand out when selected to cement his position as Fulham’s first-choice right-back.
Tete earns praise despite Fulham’s loss to Chelsea
Speaking about the 28-year-old, Mustoe said: “I just love the way they defend as well. Kenny Tete I think is often another one who is underappreciated.
“He doesn’t half do a good job, he’s a good defender, steady on the ball, I think he’s a fan favourite and he was missed last year, I think it was last year that he was out for a while.
“I just made a quick note about him, he was one of those unsung guys at a club that is really important to the way they defend.”
Tete has been fantastic since arriving at Craven Cottage but has struggled to stay fit for an entire campaign.
He started 29 games last season, nearly double the number he managed during the Championship-winning season.
The Dutchman is an unbelievable one-on-one defender and pops up with plenty of assists too, although, he’s not developed the same understanding with Raul Jimenez as he had with Aleksandar Mitrovic just yet.