Fulham head coach Marco Silva is looking forward to a ‘special’ return to Hull City, the club who gave him his first taste of English football, in the FA Cup tomorrow.

The Portuguese head coach nearly saved Hull from dropping out of the Premier League, despite City being bottom of the table when he was appointed to succeed Mike Phelan in January 2017. Speaking during his pre-match press conference this morning, Silva said:

“It was my first time in the Premier League, I arrived during a tough moment but the fans were special for us. No-one believed in us but the way we improved the players in that moment was really good and it will be special to go back.”

The Fulham boss shared his delight at how the Whites have put together a three-match winning run following the resumption of the Premier League after the World Cup.

“We are really pleased with the way we restarted. You never know what you can achieve at the level we’re playing. Even before the break, we lost against both Manchester clubs in the last minute, but we were in good form.”

He laughed and refused to share his list of transfer targets with the press, but was adamant that Fulham would only enter the January market to improve the squad in particular positions.

“All the focus is in our players and our squad, and we know the positions that we should strengthen as well. If someone comes and joins our football club, they need to be able to add something really important.”

Silva also refused to drawn on the precise nature of the Fulham team that will take the field at the MKM Stadium tomorrow afternoon – highlighting the league schedule, which sees the Whites return to the league action in the SW6 derby on Thursday night.

“It’s a really important competition for me, for us, for the football club. Everyone has to respect the FA Cup. We’re in a really busy period which is tough. We have to assess players and decide for tomorrow’s match.”