Marco Silva is convinced that Fulham can end their years of yo-yoing between the Championship and the Premier League by surviving in the top flight next season.
The Portuguese head coach has enjoyed a dream first term in charge at Craven Cottage, guiding the Whites to the top of the second tier and sealing an immediate return to English football’s top table with a 3-0 win over Preston North End last night. Silva told the press following the final whistle that the Cottagers can establish themselves in the top flight again – just like they did after storming to promotion under Jean Tigana.
“It’s a nice word yo-yo team. It’s a good nickname. But we have to be not too concerned about this, that’s the first thing. We know that it’s a huge challenge for us. We got the promotion earlier in the season [this time] and I think that will be a good help for us to prepare everything in the right way, with time, because our next pre-season will be really important for us.
Now is the moment for us to keep working for the next four games and start preparing well for the next season because the challenge is huge, definitely, but if you work so hard to achieve it, you have to be really positive.
You cannot go for a season with this concern [relegation] on our mind, you have to go with full desire and ambition. Sometimes it’s very difficult for teams going up to achieve what they want the season after, but it’s part of our job. It’s a fantastic challenge but we have all the conditions to do well to make this club a Premier League club.”
