Marco Silva speaks out on touchline ban as FA appeal against Fulham boss and Aleksandar Mitrovic rejected
ulham manager Marco Silva insisted he never wants to experience another touchline ban ahead of his return to the sidelines for the visit of Leeds on Saturday.
Silva was sent off alongside Aleksandar Mitrovic during a chaotic few minutes in Fulham's FA Cup defeat at Manchester United last month.
The manager admitted using abusive and insulting words or behaviour towards referee Chris Kavanagh and the charge was upheld with the £20,000 fine and a two-match touchline suspension.
A Football Association appeal against the punishments handed to Silva and striker Mitrovic - banned for eight games, with five now left to sit out - was dismissed by an independent appeal board on Friday, with the FA having unsuccessfully sought to increase the sanctions issued to both men.
Silva has therefore served his total ban and will return to the dugout for the first time for the visit of relegation-threatened Leeds in the Premier League.
“[The touchline] is my place, it's where I should be always. Of course, it's really important for me - for all the managers - to be there," Silva said.
“Of course, it was another moment for me to look [at the game] in a different way to improve, but it will be good.
“As you know [even while serving the ban] I was always with my players. Before the match, after the match, to share the feelings with the players on the touchline is always important.”
He added: “Of course the [view] is completely different but it's something that I would like to not experience again.”
The Cottagers had been on a poor run of form prior to the win at Everton, losing five successive matches in all competitions.
However, they bounced back against the Toffees for a result which takes them to within 11 points of their all-time Premier League record of 53, achieved in the 2008-09 season under Roy Hodgson.
Silva now believes a record points total is his side's target for the remaining eight matches of the season.
“It's our main target right now. We are always trying to find different targets," the Fulham boss said.
“We got one of the main ones last week and now we have to go for the next one and that is to try to beat the number of points that will make history again in this football club. That's really important, that we are breaking some important records, and the next one is there for us to try and do.
“We have to go game by game - not just this season but even last season when the target was to be champions. We approach it in this way and keep doing our best to better ourselves for the next match, always.
“Of course it's important to have that target ahead of us and if for some reason we get it, and we have to work really hard to do it, we are here to set another one.”
Additional reporting by PA.