FULHAM boss Marco Silva said nothing could take away his focus from his job after he was reportedly targeted by Nottingham Forest.
Silva was rumoured to be Forest’s top choice to take over from the sacked Ange Postecoglou before they appointed Sean Dyche this week.
“I focus on the games and on what I can control,” Silva said after Fulham’s 1-0 defeat to Arsenal last weekend. “Nothing takes the focus from myself and what I want to do.”
The Cottagers lost their third straight Premier League game after Gunners centre-back Gabriel flicked on a Bukayo Saka corner for Leonardo Trossard to finish from close range at the back post.
Silva said: ”When you lose a game, it is always a disappointing one. They were at a very good level. We did create chances to score before Arsenal. They were more on that than on ourselves. We knew it was not going to be easy, a tough team to play against but I think we kept them away from big chances in the game. After the goal, we did react and started to play more in our way again.
“Gabriel jumps so high, it’s impossible to stop him. It’s very difficult to control. The way we tried to block his run, most of the game, we did it very well. We were too open and left the path for Gabriel. We didn’t want him to run in that part. Any flick is very difficult to control at the back post.”
Silva emphasised the importance of striker Raul Jimenez as injuries have hit his frontline options. He said: : “It’s crucial for us to have him. Last two games, we were playing without a striker. Last season, the strikers scored more than 20 goals. Raul didn’t score tonight but his attitude was good. The injury to Andersen and Cairney with problems as well.”
