The Cottagers signed Gudjohnsen on a six-month loan deal from Stoke just before the transfer window shut on Monday night. The Iceland striker's move to Craven Cottage brought to an end a torrid spell at the Potters, where he only made five substitute appearances after struggling to find fitness and form following his arrival from Monaco last summer. Gudjohnsen has failed to hit the heights expected of him since he left Chelsea for Barcelona in a big-money move five years ago but he is now confident that a spell with Mark Hughes' side can help turn his career around. "Hopefully I can get my career back on track," the 32-year-old told Fulham's official website. "I'm grateful for this chance and it's a great opportunity for me to show what I can do. I fully intend to make the most of my time here and then we'll see what the future holds. "My situation wasn't great at Stoke in all honesty and I've got the opportunity to come here and impress the manager, get games under my belt and help Fulham push forward." Gudjohnsen and fellow loan signing Gael Kakuta could both make their debuts in Wednesday night's Premier League clash against Newcastle. The Cottagers' squad have every reason to be confident of beating the Magpies having hammered Tottenham 4-0 on Sunday to record their fifth straight home win. Gudjohnsen can either play up front or in the centre of midfield but Fulham are blessed in both departments, given the form of the likes of Danny Murphy and Mousa Dembele and the arrival of Steve Sidwell from Aston Villa. But the former Chelsea man is determined to do all he can to get into Mark Hughes' starting XI and help the Londoners climb the table from their current position of 15th. "Whether I'm setting up goals or scoring doesn't really matter to me as long as the team is moving in the right direction," Gudjohnsen said. "I thoroughly enjoyed my first training session and I just hope to be a positive influence. "Obviously there's big competition for places here at Fulham but I'll do my best to bring out my qualities and help the team between now and the end of the season. "I think this team's got a lot of quality and the position in the league doesn't reflect that. I know all about the area and the club so coming to Fulham was an easy decision for me." A New Year's Day defeat to Spurs and a narrow loss at Liverpool were the only blotches on what otherwise proved to be a good January for Fulham. All talk of Hughes' leaving his post has now disappeared with the Londoners five points out of the relegation zone. With a game at Aston Villa coming up on Saturday, Fulham now have a good chance of racking up yet more points to help them towards safety. Brede Hangeland admits playing three games in seven days is tough but he hopes that the experience of playing in the club's European campaign last year will help. "It would be nice to have more rest but that's not the case, and we should be well trained in this because last year we played two games a week more or less the whole season," the Norway defender said. "I'm hoping we can get into that rhythm again. It looks like we're coping quite well at the moment." Hangeland warned that any complacency could plunge Fulham back into the drop zone though. The 29-year-old added: "The league is the most important thing and we're a bit too close to the bottom at the moment. "We'll be looking to get away from there as soon as possible.
