Fulham manager Marco Silva appreciates the significance of taking a positive result into the upcoming international break.
After Saturday’s meeting with Burnley, it will be three weeks until the next Fulham fixture, so when asked if this could be a pivotal moment in our campaign, Silva replied: “Yes, as I've been mentioning to you as the season is going, all the games are becoming even more crucial.
“Of course, it’s not that the win now gets you more points than in the past, it’s because you don't have a long time to recover from some things that you do well or not so well. And that is the main thing for us.
“And, of course, we want to be back in winning ways at the Cottage as well, because the last two results were tough for us at home, and we want to recover from that.
“We have to enjoy again a good result and to have a good result at home and good performance, if we can, with our fans behind ourselves. Burnley is going to be the next one and, as you said, it's a crucial one, before a long period without games – that is important.
“Even if we are going to have a short number of players with us because of the international duties, it’s very important for us to go into the international break with a different mood, lift the mood between ourselves, our fans, to face what is going to come after.
“But it’s very, very important this game, and [Burnley] have been showing that they are difficult for many, many teams when they play, and even more away than at home, as well.
“It’s a crucial game for us to be back in the right track, and to get three points that are going to be difficult.”
Despite taking just a point from our most recent fixtures with West Ham and Nottingham Forest, Fulham remain within sight of our targets going into the final eight matches.
Depending on results elsewhere, we could go into the international break in eighth, and when asked if a European finish remains a motivating factor, Silva was absolute.
“100 per cent sure, definitely, definitely. That big battle is there for the seventh/eighth position, and we want to be part of that battle.
“And for us to be part of it, we have to get points, and the next three points that we are going to fight for, in the match against Burnley, are going to be crucial.”