Marco Silva tells Hull not to underestimate Fulham
Hull manager Marco Silva knows they cannot afford any let up at Fulham if they are to avoid coming a cropper in the FA Cup fourth round.
Eyebrows were raised earlier this month when the struggling Tigers named the relatively unknown Portuguese as Mike Phelan's successor.
However, Silva has quickly made an impact in East Yorkshire and overseen three victories in five matches in all competitions, including Thursday's 2-1 defeat of Manchester United in the EFL Cup semi-final second leg.
It may not have been enough to book a place at Wembley but it further boosted morale, which the Hull boss is determined to build on when they travel to Sky Bet Championship play-off hopefuls Fulham on Sunday.
"The FA Cup is an important competition for our fans and for the club, so we want to continue in this competition," Silva said.
"To do that, we are going to have to give 100 per cent and play well against a very good Fulham team.
"They are a team that like to play and keep possession well. They will want to cause problems for us.
"We respect the competition and we respect Fulham because they are a good team. Always in this competition come surprises, and we don't want to see any on Sunday so we must play well.
"Fulham will present dangers and they are doing well in the Championship. They have good players and a good coach, and this is why it is important that we play our best.
"We want to keep improving our organisation and our quality to win more games of football.
"Beating Manchester United on Thursday night must give us more confidence going into the next few games."
Silva is likely to select from the same group of players that he had against United, with the absent Robert Snodgrass now having completed his B#10.2million move to West Ham.
Curtis Davies remains unavailable in defence, while Ryan Mason, Moses Odubajo, Alex Bruce, Will Keane and Greg Luer are missing for the trip to Craven Cottage.
Lazar Markovic, on loan from Liverpool, will be hoping to make his first start after coming off the bench against United on Thursday evening.
Fulham manager Slavisa Jokanovic is weighing up whether to throw new loan signing Thanos Petsos straight into the side for the clash.
The German-born Greece international defensive midfielder has trained with his new team-mates after moving on loan from Werder Bremen, so could be involved.
Foward Floyd Ayite is expected to be involved having returned to London following Togo's exit from the African Nations Cup.
Midfielder Neeskens Kebano, however, remains on international duty with DR Congo, who have qualified for the quarter-finals in Gabon, while striker Cauley Woodrow and midfielder Lasse Vigen Christensen have both joined Burton on loan for the rest of the season.
Source: PAR
