Pride was the overriding emotion for Fulham coach Marco Silva on Tuesday evening, after achieving promotion in his first season at Fulham.
“It could have been decided last Friday, but sometimes football doesn’t appear like you want or you deserve,” he said following our 3-0 victory over Preston North End. “But we got it tonight.
“We knew that we had to get the job done tonight. We were clinical – the first two chances, we scored. And when you score and are on the front foot, it’s difficult for the opposition to match us.
“It’s really good to do it at home in front of our fans. The feeling would not have been the same if we’d got it yesterday [if Nottingham Forest had lost].
“We deserved it, I think. We have to be proud of what we did, what we achieved for this football club.
“It was the reason I came, it’s why we were invited to join this football club, and we delivered to the Club and to the fans what they deserved.
“I’m proud of the players, not just because we achieved something really important for us. It was our goal, our aim from the first day; direct promotion.
“I know this is the third time the Club got promotion in the last five years, but the way we did it, we were really dominant almost all the season.
“It’s been a fantastic journey for us, I’m really proud of my players, and now it’s a moment for them to celebrate.
“We know we have something more to get. Today is a celebration day, tomorrow they have time to rest, and on Thursday we have to be on our top level to prepare and work for the next match.”
But while Premier League football is confirmed for 2022/23, there is plenty more that Silva wants to accomplish this year.
“It’s a good thing that we achieved it with four more games to play, as we have more to achieve,” he stated. “We have almost scored 100 goals this season which is an amazing achievement.
“We want to go above 100 goals because it’s a good statement for us as a club, for our philosophy as well.
“The first aim and the goal for us was promotion, direct promotion. We knew it would be difficult.
“Of course, it makes sense if we can get what we want [the title], what’s been our desire from the first day.
“Most of the time we were top of the table, and we want to finish on the top of the table. It will be a completely different feeling to the one we’ve got tonight, if we get first position.
“We will fight for it, as you know nothing is guaranteed in football and you have to keep working hard.”
Sceptics have already referenced Fulham’s recent record in the top flight, but Silva wants to head into the new campaign with an optimistic outlook.
“We got the promotion earlier in the season, which I think will be a good help for us to prepare in the right way, because the next pre-season will be really important for us,” he explained.
“Now is a moment for us to keeping working for the next four games, but we are already working and preparing well for the next season.
“The challenge is huge, but we want to be there and we worked so hard to achieve it. We have to be really positive and not go into the season with this concern on our mind, we have to go with full desire and ambition.
“We know that it’s difficult, of course, the gap between the competitions is getting bigger, every single season you can see it. Sometimes it’s really difficult for promoted teams to achieve what they want the season after.
“Now we have to celebrate, get the job done in the next four games, and prepare as best we can for the next season.
“It’s difficult, but it’s a fantastic challenge and we have all the conditions to do things well and make Fulham Football Club a Premier League club.”