Goma: Plea to fans (PhilCole/Allsport)

The French defender has been impressed with the atmosphere at Loftus Road and Goma said he was looking forward to playing at the Second Division club's ground.

Bolton are the first Premiership visitors to QPR's 19,148-capacity ground as the 2002-03 top-flight term gets underway tomorrow.

Fulham assistant boss Christian Damiano has already conceded it will take time to adapt to the new surroundings two miles from Craven Cottage, which isundergoing a £70 million revamp.

The supporters' only opportunity so far to experience their temporary home - the 1-0 Intertoto Cup victory against Sochaux on July 31 - was widely snubbed, with just 4,717 fans passing through the turnstiles.

So Goma believes getting off to an impressive start in the league, in front of a bumper crowd, is vital for the Intertoto finalists who will bid to clinch their place in the UEFA Cup at Loftus Road on August 27.

The 29-year-old French defender said: `We played there against Sochaux and the atmosphere was really good. I'm quite happy to play there.

`But it would be a shame if a large section of the fans didn't go. I think it's a great stadium and we need to have them there.'

The fans were not always there last season, with Fulham's small catchment area and the attraction of rival clubs embarrassingly leaving attendances at some Premiership matches last season up to 6,000 below Craven Cottages' 21,000-capacity.

However, Fulham fans should be in a buoyant mood ahead of tomorrow's fixture with Bolton, who Jean Tigana's team thrashed 3-0 in April as they secured their Premiership status for this season.

Fulham's Intertoto run, which has seen them overcome Finnish side FC Haka, Greek outfit Aigaleo and French team Sochaux - as well as recording an impressive 2-2 draw with Italians Bologna in Italy on Tuesday - has heartened Cottagers' fans.

Goma added: `Bologna were always trying to provoke a reaction and were very good at trying to disorganise us.

`But we did well and kept calm under pressure. It was a very, very good goal by Junichi Inamoto and came at an important time as we were trailing 1-0.

`That certainly helped us get back into the match. And it was a good result getting a draw, and especially with two away goals.'

Tigana's frustration at Fulham's abysmal chances-to-goals conversion rate last season also eased somewhat with his side's last two matches - the 2-0 success in Sochaux and the game at Bologna's Stadio Renato Dall'Ara.