Tosin Adarabioyo is looking forward to returning to Manchester City with Fulham this weekend – but insists the Championship leaders won’t be putting ten men behind the ball in attempt to get a result.
The 24 year-old defender, a boyhood City fan, spent his formative years in the club’s academy but decided to move on two summers ago to seek further first team experience. He has been back with Fulham when they were in the Premier League and is grounded enough to consider tomorrow’s FA Cup fourth round tie as another game.
In a wide-ranging interview with the Independent, Adarabioyo says:
“We’re going to go and play how we play. We keep our identity. We know it’s Manchester City, and they generally have so much of the ball, but we want to try and play our game also. It’s just another game, a big game. It’ll be nice to go back and see everyone there but it is just a game.”
Adarabioyo admits disappointment at relegation in his first season at Craven Cottage – chiefly because he felt Fulham played ‘good football’ under Scott Parker – but is enjoying the freedom afforded by Marco Silva’s attacking approach, which he underlined as soon as he took over.
“He told us the goal was to win the league. We were all on the same page, him and his staff. It all just clicked. We’re a team enjoying our football, and those results are a consequence of that. The manager loves offensive football, that’s how he wants to play, to go out and attack and show what we can do. Our preparation didn’t change much for this game, really. It’s a knock-out picture, so we had to practice penalties!
