Hughes has found life tough at Fulham since his appointment and will start the new year with his side in the relegation zone after winning just three of their opening 19 league games so far. The picture at Craven Cottage could not have been more different 12 months ago when, under Roy Hodgson, the west Londoners were ninth in the league and had just qualified for the knockout stages of the Europa League. Despite last week's 2-0 win at Stoke, Fulham remain serious relegation candidates but under-pressure Hughes is sure the Cottagers will have a better second half of the season - and his managerial record suggests he may well be right. Throughout his five seasons in club management, Hughes' sides have always won more matches in the second half of the season than the first. That, Hughes insists, means Fulham stand a good chance of climbing the division next year. "We are obviously frustrated because of the situation we find ourselves in at the moment, but the second half is likely to give us more enjoyment and success than the first half," Hughes said. "The frustration we felt in the first half will disappear, we'll get players back and we'll kick on in the second half of the season because invariably teams that are managed by me are stronger in the second half of the season. "We are more than capable of really kicking on next year." Fulham's problems this year have stemmed from a lack of goals. Unable to call upon the help of last year's top scorer Bobby Zamora for most of this season, the Cottagers have the third worst scoring record in the league having only found the net only 19 times. Hughes had to rely on two strikes from full-back Chris Baird to fire his side to victory over Stoke and the Fulham boss has been linked with a £2million move for Cardiff and England hitman Jay Bothroyd. "I'm aware of Jay because I worked with him at Blackburn and maybe that's where the speculation is coming from," Hughes said. "He was still a young player finding his way when I was there and he had a few problems at his previous clubs. "He has certainly matured from that point of view but from my knowledge he is very much a Cardiff player." Hughes revealed that Zamora, who broke his leg against Wolves in September, has stepped up his rehabilitation and could return to action by the end of January. "We hope to involve Bobby in warm-ups at training to get him involved in the group sometime next week," said Hughes, who is likely to be without striker Moussa Dembele for Saturday's match at Tottenham because of a long-standing ankle injury. "Bobby's progress is going well. It will be the end of January or the start of February before he is available for selection. "The sooner we get him back the better." The 2-0 victory over Stoke ended an eight-match winless run and also brought to an end an unwanted sequence of 27 games without a league triumph away from Craven Cottage. Hughes believes three points against Tony Pulis' side has galvanised his squad and is he now confident of taking something from Saturday's game at in-form Tottenham. "The win over Stoke lifted the sense of frustration that we were feeling," the former Wales manager said. "It was a great team performance and there were some huge individual performances. "We showed strength of mind to see the game out and we have to replicate that against Tottenham. "It won't be easy because they are absolutely flying at the moment but the performance against Stoke was exactly what I was looking for in terms of attitude and application and if we repeat that then we can make it difficult to overcome any team."
