Marco Silva has said that Fulham failed to qualify for Europe because they were too predictable in the final third in the closing weeks of the season.
In an interview at Motspur Park with DAZN Portugal, the Fulham boss is asked why things went wrong for the Whites towards the end of a campaign where they were in contention for the European places both through the Premier League and the FA Cup, where they lost to the eventual winners Crystal Palace in the quarter finals. Silva offered a frank answer:
‘Fulham in the last two years have been rewarded for the adventurous way we played, both at home and away, but the attacking way that we played meant that some teams approached games a little differently against us [this year]. It is part of the success [of the first two days] and the way of playing that we have adopted. Naturally, our opponents have prepared more and adapted to try and respect us more.
When we are playing against teams at the bottom of the table, they naturally play in a different way and there is no hiding that lacked decisiveness in the final third of the pitch. We have been patient, as we like to be, but then at the moment when we needed to make the right decision, accelerate, create space or quicken things up, we were too slow and too predictable.”
Silva is seeking to refresh his squad over the summer months and it is clear that the Whites will need more options in their strike force having relied on 34 year-old Raul Jimenez and Rodrigo Muniz as the main attacking options over the past two years. It remains to be seen whether the Fulham head coach will also look to add greater creativity in the midfield to help break down sides who put men behind the ball at Craven Cottage.