Alex Iwobi has told Football Focus he is delighted to be enjoying his football again at Fulham.
The Nigerian international revealed that Marco Silva has given him greater license to express himself and boosted his confidence in front of goal. Speaking to the BBC’s flagship weekend football show during a Christmas event for his social enterprise Project 17, Iwobi identified the reasons behind the Whites’ recent upturn in form:
“I feel since the last international break, we’ve worked together and we’ve knuckled down and said, ‘We have a great team’. I think everyone’s really gelling together really well. Before we were creating so many chances but now we’re putting them away and when you are consistently doing that, the confidence just comes and the results start coming as well. We just have to make sure we remain consistent and keep it going.”
The versatile midfielder disclosed that individual training and discussions with Silva have helped him become an integral part of the Fulham side over the last few weeks.
I’ve worked with the manager before when I was at Everton so I know what qualities he can bring out in me. He just gives me that confidence and the license to express myself. I just have to make sure I’m consistent because the faith he puts in me it is only right that I repay it. He’s someone that likes to talk to people … he wants everyone involved. You can see the quality of the side, it’s not just the starting eleven, there’s depth in depth. He’s been working with me – he does one-to-ones, he wants to me get more goals and assists. It has helped me and given me the confidence that I feel like I have more chance of scoring. It’s nice to have that confidence from such a manager like Marco.
Iwobi also waxed lyrical about the varied attacking threats in the Fulham squad that are all now beginning to fire.
The one thing about our team, I think it’s one of the oldest teams in the Prem[ier League], so there’s a lot of experience. Willian’s moving like he’s still 21. Pereira, you know when he has the ball, any of us can make a run, and he’s going to find us. Raul – he found it tough at the start, but he’s someone that works hard all the time, so we just knew that it was just a matter of time before the goals came in. There’s so many different players that contribute to goals. We kept clean sheets as well. We’re not only attacking well, but we’re also defending well. It’s a good time and it’s a good time for us.”
