Marco Silva insisted the notion of silencing their critics was far from Fulham thoughts at the start of a season in which they have confounded expectactions.
Despite a final day 2-1 defeat to Manchester United at Old Trafford, Fulham finished the season in a very respectable 10th position on 52 points. It represents a significant overachievement in the context of many pundits’ predictions, and a major upgrade on the club’s recent Premier League campaigns in 2018/19 and 2020/21 when they were relegated the next season after promotion.
The Cottagers have impressed under Silva, with the Portuguese manager reflecting on his second full campaign at the club – another which marks major progress.
Silva told the BBC: “When everyone was saying we would be first ones to go down...we didn’t play to shut up anyone. We played for ourselves, our club and our fans.
“I’m really proud of the way we did it. We kept the same identity from last season.”
The game at Old Trafford saw United battle back from behind to claim all three points. Jadon Sancho and Bruno Fernandes netted after Kenny Tete’s early headed opener and David de Gea also saved a penalty from Aleksandar Mitrovic as Fulham fell to a third defeat to United this season.
Silva added: “We didn’t deserve to lose the game. The game changed completely from that moment [the penalty save]. We should have reacted in a different way. It was a moment for us to show maturity and handle the game in a different way but we haven’t done that,
“The game showed again our quality and what we are doing with these players. All season have to be really proud of what we did.”
