Following an extended period without a game, Fulham boss Marco Silva returned in front of the press ahead of our FA Cup fixture against Bristol City on Saturday.
With three fixtures postponed over the festive period, the Whites now face a packed-out schedule, which kickstarts with an away trip to Ashton Gate in England’s most historic competition.
“I grew up watching the FA Cup in my house with my father,” Marco began. “It is always a competition that you can watch in Portugal.”
“You have to understand as well for a manager, you have to look not just at the moment, but the future as well. I really love the competition and the competition is amazing but what I will decide is not just because of the competition, which I respect, it’s what will come after as well, because what will come after for us is not a normal thing.
“The Championship is tough anyway but what is to come is not our fault. This doesn’t mean that we won’t respect the competition.”
The postponements have provided a unique challenge for managers across the football league since the beginning of the pandemic, but it is one that Marco and the team have been able to adjust to.
“It’s been tough for us as a football club. If you are preparing for a game, two days before, preparing your team, preparing strategies and someone comes and tells you another game is cancelled, of course it is not a normal thing.
“It’s been tough for a lot of us, all of us managers for sure but the reality now is we are trying to create the scenario outside of the training sessions and inside of the training sessions to keep up the competition and aim to keep winning and the most important thing in the training sessions is to prepare them [the players] for matches.”
Looking ahead to this weekend’s challenge, the Whites will head west to Ashton Gate for the second time this season, having already faced them in a 1-1 draw.
“It’s a tough place to play but a good place to play. The atmosphere is good – I liked the atmosphere.
“It’s a good pitch to play football against a good side. They had a good result in their last game and I’m sure it will give more confidence to them.
“They will match us for sure and they will try to do their best but again, it is up to us to do our best and win the game and go through the competition.”