Fulham manager Slavisa Jokanovic has conceded that his team need to adapt to the Premier League quickly before they drop into the relegation zone.

The Cottagers are now 17th in the league table after their 3-0 defeat to Everton on Saturday.

The Toffees missed a penalty before finding the net on three occasions and Jokanovic’s men have now conceded 16 goals in their first seven matches.

Jokanovic has had defensive struggles to deal with but he admits his squad need to learn their lessons quickly before it is too late.

He said: “They (Everton) didn’t do something fantastic or the perfect game from their point of view but with a bit more skill and power they easily scored three goals.

“We must understand where we are and that we could pay a really expensive price if we don’t adapt ourselves to this.

“We are a seven games-old Premier League team and we showed some quality – we were brave and tried to follow our style.

“I can find both positives and negatives from today’s game. We are in a kind of growing-up process. There is big room for improvement and we need to be more brave and more consistent and do everything to find a faster improvement.”

Defender Joe Bryan is also set to miss the next few weeks after suffering a hamstring injury, while fellow defender Timothy Fosu-Mensah is awaiting scan results on a shoulder problem.

Fulham take on Arsenal on Sunday in their next league match and they are 5.25 to win, with the draw 4.20, while Arsenal are 1.60 to grab all three points.