Marco Silva says Fulham’s Carabao Cup semi-final exit to Liverpool “took a lot out of his players” after their 3-2 aggregate defeat at Craven Cottage on Wednesday.
Issa Diop’s second-half strike cancelled out Luis Diaz’s opener but Fulham failed to overturn Liverpool’s 2-1 first-leg advantage. Silva’s men take on Newcastle today.
And Silva highlighted that his players’ spirits have been low in recent days.
When asked about Wednesday’s defeat, Silva said: “It took a lot out of ourselves, no doubt about it. If we had a different result, emotionally it would be different.
“Even if you have fatigue, when you have good results it can be behind you because the emotion part plays a big part.
“It took many things from us but it can’t be an excuse. The players gave everything in a game that we did not start well and a game where we knew we had to win to have a chance to play in the final.
“The players were not in the best mood but our obligation is to change that and to make sure they are in the best mindset. We had conversations with the players about it.”
Fulham’s dreams of winning the club’s first ever major trophy were dampened by Wednesday’s Carabao Cup exit.
But victory in the FA Cup would reignite their bid, with Silva insisting they should use their recent cup run as a motivation.
He added: “Firstly, we need to use what we did in that competition as a motivation and to be proud of it. Even if we did not reach the final it was a great run for us. This needs to give us motivation and confidence that we are going in the right direction.
“We need to fight in the next game with the same braveness as we did in the last one. The best way for us to get ourselves into those stages again [semi-finals] is to do well in the FA Cup. This is the reality, the season has too far to go to be over.
“We need to change the mindset and focus on the Newcastle match.”
PA Sport