Marco Silva has insisted that Fulham will take the League Cup very serious when they entertain Championship club Bristol City at Craven Cottage as their participation in the competition gets underway tomorrow night.
Silva was disappointed that his second string side exited at the third round stage after a record-breaking penalty shoot-out at Preston North End last season having been beaten by Liverpool in the semi-finals the previous year. The Portuguese head coach told his pre-match press conference that he wants to take the Cottagers to Wembley:
“The competition is very important, we look at it seriously. Some players need game-time, we have to be very careful in terms of rotation because we are short in some positions. We achieved the semi-finals two years ago, the next step is the final. With a full squad, it’s not an easy thing to do (cup runs) – if you want to arrive in the latter stages of both cups, then we need the depth.
The Fulham boss reiterated that the club’s recruitment team need to strengthen his first-team squad in the closing days of the transfer window.
“We have to. When you leave things to the final stages, it’s not in your control anymore. With time, you can take better decisions and not [make] mistakes. [We need] numbers – we have no choice but to add players. I’m involved in the decisions, [about] who comes in.”
Silva did scotch suggestions that Fulham have to sell players before they buy, saying that ‘had never been the case’.
