Fulham’s fantastic return to action has fans focused on the Premier League, but Marco Silva isn’t taking the FA Cup any less seriously. The manager stressed the importance of the competition ahead of Saturday’s trip to Hull in the third round.
Marco Silva said: “It’s a really important competition for me, for us, for our football players, for our football club. I think everyone has to respect the competition. We have experience this season in the Carabao Cup as well during a different moment at the beginning of the season when many players had just arrived at our football club. It wasn’t a good experience for us. It was probably the toughest moment for us this season. In the FA Cup, all of us have the aim to have a good run, but at the same time we have to assess our players. We are going there to get to the next round, but we have to play at our best level.”
The tie means a return to the MKM Stadium for Silva, who had a 22-game spell as Tigers manager in 2017.
Marco Silva said: “It was my first time in the Premier League. I remember arriving in January in a really bad moment for Hull City as a football club, for the fans and the players as well. But they were special for us in that moment and I think we made a huge impact on the football club as well. The way we improved the players and the club in that moment was something really good and it will be special for me to go back, to see some good people around and to have good memories again. We played against them last season so it’s not the first time for me to go back as Fulham manager. Now they are different, they’ve changed their manager and are in different form. Of course it will be a tough game for us.”
Among the familiar faces will be Jean Michael Seri, who joined Hull following his Fulham departure in the summer.
Marco Silva said: “Sometimes you have to take tough decisions and that one was really tough for me. Not just because of the way he played; we are talking about a great man as well and it’s always tough for me when I have to take this type of decision. It’s good to see that he’s happy and he’s playing at a good level again. It’s no surprise to me. It was a difficult one but I think he understood our position and of course I’m always supporting him.”
