A fascinating feature in the Mail on Sunday sees Joao Palhinha sit down with former Fulham captain Danny Murphy at Motspur Park ahead of this afternoon’s trip to Stratford to take on West Ham United.
Murphy’s piece compliments Fulham’s progress in the two seasons since they were promoted to the Premier League and Palhinha, again the leading top flight tackler by a distance, is in no doubt where the credit should go.
“Nobody expected that of us when I signed at the start of last season. A lot of that success is down to Marco [Silva]. He brings a competitive side. He wants to fight the same against Burnley as if it were Arsenal or Liverpool. When we are too relaxed, like [in the 3-1 defeat] at Nottingham Forest, he goes completely crazy. It shows passion.”
The midfielder is inevitably asked about his future as Murphy considers him ‘a future Champions’ League player’. On the drama that saw him head for Munich to sign for Bayern and then return to Fulham when a deal could not be concluded before the end of the German transfer window, Palhinha is pretty matter of fact:
“It had an impact but I turned my head around to focus. I had this opportunity and I will try to fight to reach another opportunity. If it appears, it appears. If not, I just need to keep doing my job for Fulham. I’ve always felt a big support [at Fulham]. Without my work here, nothing would be possible anyhow”.
