Marco Silva believes Tottenham Hotspur deserve to top the Premier League, with the way they’ve approached the opening eight matches of the season.
Six wins and two draws has put Spurs at the summit, with Craven Cottage the only place they’ve suffered defeat in 2023/24.
“We look forward to the match, with trust and belief in ourselves, [while] respecting Tottenham,” Silva said. “Tottenham is doing an amazing start to the season. They are at the top of the table and it's clear why.
“Not just because of the results, of course they had to achieve results to be there, but the way they have been achieving the results has been really good, and we have to give credit to them.
“They have had one bad result, if I can say that, and it was against us in the Carabao Cup at the Cottage. Different scenario, different competition, they made some changes, we did as well.
“That was a good evening for us, but it’s going to be tough playing them there, they are in a very good moment, the way they have been playing, the connection between them is growing as well, and it’s going to be a great challenge for us.
“It’s going to demand really hard work from ourselves and very good organisation and, after, the belief and the courage to play our way.”
Ange Postecoglou already has two Manager of the Month awards under his belt since swapping Glasgow for London, and when asked if the Australian’s impressive start has come as a surprise, Silva replied: “To be honest, no.
“If you look at his last two seasons at Celtic, I know that is a different competition, but in this country normally we follow that league, too, and you can see many, many similar things that he was doing there that he's trying to do again in Tottenham.
“Of course, different competition, different players as well. The quality is different, of course. Some of the players, for sure, have been enjoying.
“You can see it, as well, the approach and the way he tries to set up his players on the pitch. It's not a surprise for us.
“The quality was there and he's helping the players to improve, which is always the job of the manager.”
