Gold-standard Fulham thriving thanks to some Silva service

I don't set limits to what we can achieve. I want us to be ambitious and I want my players to think the same way

- MIKE WALTERS

MARCO SILVA is now English football's seventh longest-serving manager, behind only the blessed Pep, Thomas Frank and Mikel Arteta in the top flight.

That may surprise those who believed he once went around with a gangplank under his arm like a surfer's bodyboard so he could jump ship at the first chance of a higher salary or expansive transfer budget.

But it remains a mystery why none of the 'big six' has taken a chance on the man who has transformed Fulham from a nice day out by the river to one of the most difficult away fixtures on the roster.

Where a trip to Craven Cottage used to involve a pint in the Eight Bells, a stroll through Bishops Park and a choral society meeting at the Putney end, now it comes with a good chasing on the pitch.