In tonight’s Evening Standard, Dom Smith reflects on the fact that Marco Silva passed 900 days in charge of Fulham on Monday. Part of Silva’s rationale for taking the Craven Cottage job was his burning desire to prove his English critics wrong following his sacking by Everton – and the Whites have reaped the reward of giving the Portuguese coach time to implement his easy-on-the-eye footballing philosophy.

An ambitious manager, Silva’s nomadic career has hardly seen him put down routes but the prospect of building a legacy at Fulham encouraged him to sign a new contract, even after a chaotic summer. It isn’t controversial to laud what he has already achieved by the River Thames, but he is determined to drive London’s oldest football professional club forward – and that means making more history. Beating his former employers to reach Fulham’s first ever League Cup semi-final tonight would be another impressive step forward.