Fulham have responded tremendously well to dropping down a division and are currently operating at the Championship summit. 

The Cottagers find themselves a point above Bournemouth in second, and eight points ahead of West London rivals QPR. 

Marco Silva's side have netted 49 times in just 20 league games thus far, which is 13 more than any other team in the division, whilst no other team in the division have conceded fewer.

One key change from the summer was the Cottagers bringing in Silva to replace Scott Parker, with Fulham's vice-chairman speaking about the impact that the Portuguese manager has made at Craven Cottage.

“Marco Silva has been a phenomenal head coach for us,” Tony Khan told Grant Wahl’s Futbol podcast.

“He’s come in with a coaching staff and a philosophy. I’ve really enjoyed working with him. We’ve been doing Zooms on transfers, talking and texting all the time.

“The command of the squad he has is phenomenal. He is a huge acquisition for Fulham.”

The verdict 

Fulham have been unplayable at times this season and have been a class above the majority of teams they have come across this season. 

Silva does have some excellent options at his disposal but he has to take a lot of credit in the way he sets his team up and how he has instilled belief back into the side after a relegation. 

It makes things even better when there is harmony and a close relationship between the on-field and off-field staff, which is seemingly the situation at Craven Cottage right now. 

Fulham will be aware that there is still a large chunk of this season to go, but they will be confident that they can secure Premier League football once again.