Fulham ‘filled with confidence’ ahead of Millwall game – Silva

Fulham boss Marco Silva insists his players will not need picking up from Saturday’s 4-1 defeat at Manchester City ahead of Tuesday’s game against Millwall.

The Championship leaders acquitted themselves well in spells against the Premier League champions after taking an early lead through Fabio Carvalho only for City to take advantage of some lack defending to ease to a comfortable win.

“What City did against us they do week in week out,” Silva said.

“But it’s taken nothing from our confidence. We know the good things we did and why we did it, and we know as well the thing we should improve.

“We go into the next match on a high, filled with confidence.”

Silva acknowledged the Lions, who come into the game on the back of a 2-0 win over West Brom, will pose a significantly different test to City, and said he is willing sacrifice his side’s flamboyant approach if it means claiming three points.

“The main thing for me as a manager is to win football matches,” Silva explained.

“I know that all the philosophies you want to create at a football club, if you don’t win matches then you can’t because everyone just looks at results.

“If you have something good that you are creating then that will be stopped if you don’t win.

“You can win football matches in many different ways. Myself and my staff have our own philosophies and since we have come here it is clear what we want to build.

“But I think we are improving every week and seeing something good with each game.”

Fulham produced one of their best displays of the season at Millwall earlier in the season, despite the narrow look of the 2-1 scoreline.

A late Lions goal failed to disguise the dominance of the Whites, who have now scored 74 times this season – the most of any team in the top four divisions.

They now need to find the target just 26 more times in the final 18 games to pass the record of 99 set by Reading’s Championship-winning side in 2005/06.

However, Silva expects the uncompromising but effective approach of Gary Rowett’s side to make life difficult in a match that would see Fulham move eight points clear at the summit with a win.

“From 6pm last Saturday, we started to change the mindset again and regroup,” he said.

“That (City) game is gone. Now it’s feet on the ground, to face a team that will come to match us and create problems and make things difficult. We have to show full focus every time.”