Fulham manager Marco Silva would love to mark his 500th game in management by guiding Fulham to an FA Cup Semi-Final.
Saturday’s Quarter-Final showdown against Crystal Palace at Craven Cottage will also be Silva’s 175th match in charge of Fulham.
“I’m feeling very well but feeling a little bit older,” said Silva, when asked to reflect on his 500-match landmark. “It's a big game for us, like it is for Palace too. It’s a very good number, a nice number, to be honest, but it’s just another game that’s really important, because it’s the next one in an important competition.
“It’s been a long journey. I started a little bit younger than normal for most managers. It’s been a special journey, and I am proud of what I have been doing so far, but I want much more and better things to come.”
Leading his side to the final four of the FA Cup would be a fitting way for the boss to mark this managerial milestone.
Silva took Fulham to the Semi-Finals of the Carabao Cup last term, but the gaffer believes getting to the same stage of this season’s FA Cup would highlight the progress his side are making.
“It shows the progress since that first season in the Premier League,” he said. “It’s not a coincidence that in our first season we got to the Quarter-Finals of the FA Cup, then last season we achieved the Semi-Finals for the first time ever in the Carabao Cup, and this season we are in the Quarter-Finals of the FA Cup.
“It shows the progress, shows what we have been doing, not just in terms of performance, but changing the mentality of the club in every competition that we play.
“I remember the first games we played in these competitions when I first joined the club, and we’ve changed the approach, mindset and mentality completely – and we have been achieving important stages in these cups since.
“Last season, the club had never played in the Semi-Finals of the Carabao Cup, now we are in the Quarter-Finals of the FA Cup. If you asked me what the feeling is like for the chance to play in the Semi-Finals, it’s great, but it’s normal progression for a club that is doing the right things and normal progression for a group of players and staff that has enough ambition.
“It’s part of the journey and the pressure to play in these types of games should be a privilege for us. These games are important for the club to grow and achieve the next steps.
“Let’s grab the chance, I have told the players. We have a great opportunity, just like all the other clubs, like Palace have too, but let’s grab this chance to be playing the next round of this competition.”
Palace will be boosted by the return of top scorer Jean-Philippe Mateta, who will return to the squad for the first time since suffering a head injury in the Fifth Round win over Millwall.
Mateta led the line for Palace when the sides met at the Cottage last month, a 2-0 victory for the visitors, and Silva wants his team to be more of an attacking threat than on that disappointing afternoon in SW6.
Silva said: “If you want to be in the Semi-Finals, you want to play against the strongest possible Palace side. It’s simple.
“If you want to play in the Semi-Finals of this amazing competition, you have to play against the best. For sure, they are better with Mateta, and we have to be ready to face him.
“The game [last month] was not a good game. It was not a game that everybody enjoyed. It was a really physical game; they are a physical side and difficult to beat. They always have a strong five at the back, with two good midfielders who have quality, and three attacking players who are always a threat.
“It was difficult to break them down, but to be honest, they didn’t have many chances and it was a game decided by details. The details went in their direction with the set-piece goal and then the counter-attacking goal when we were chasing the result.
“The main thing we have to do is create more chances than we created in that game. There were not enough chances, and we want to create more chances because we know for us to win this game, we have to score.”