Marco Silva is looking forward to having his side return to action on Saturday following an extended break away from the pitch.
Our fixture against Nottingham Forest, originally set to have been played on March 19, was postponed due to their progression in the FA Cup, which was followed up by the international break, giving the team some time to re-cooperate, following a busy 2022 schedule thus far.
"It was a good time to have a break. Apart from the last result, it came at a good time," said Marco. "It’s been tough the last two or three months.
"Of course, the majority of the results and during the games, we have been doing really well. It was a moment for us to have a break. It’s time for us to start to work again and have all the players with us.
"It was a good week last week; this week has been really good as well and we are preparing ourselves for the next match."
Having players away on international duty poses an extra set of challenges when preparing for league matches but Marco believes it to be a positive for Fulham.
"It's good for us that we have players who can play at a different level and have the quality to play for their national teams as well.
"It’s part of my job to work with them and to improve them to be able to play for their national teams.
"We are here to work to win matches not just for Fulham Football Club but at the same time to prepare them to play for their national teams because it is part of their ambition."
Looking ahead to QPR, Marco was happy to report that he would have access to a full squad list on Saturday, with the possible exception of Antonee Robinson who has been playing regularly for the US National Team.
Having a fully fit squad is to the benefit of Marco, who expects a difficult afternoon at the Kiyan Prince Foundation Stadium, following a battling performance in the reverse fixture.
"It was a tough game in certain periods of the match," Marco started. "We started well and after they equalised, we showed a good reaction second half, and we finished the game with a very good result.
"We know we are playing against a side with very good quality. They want to win the match as well.
"They will want to show a reaction from the last few games where they didn’t get the result as well. It will be a tough match for both sides.
"We want to play better than them and win the match."
April's fixture schedule will be a very busy one, with eight matches due to be played across the month and will test the players' energy levels across what will be an intense end to the season.
"We start on Saturday and after, we don’t stop," is how Marco described his April agenda. "We will have to prepare ourselves and have the whole squad ready at a good level."
"We probably need all of them to be ready because in the end, they will all need to make a difference. Not just the eleven or the players that come in but the whole squad can make a big difference in what is a tough, tough schedule for us.
"The situation with COVID during the month of December of course created a difficult scenario for us.
"We are here, ready to go, ready to fight, to play football and enjoy the big challenge we have ahead of us."
