Fulham star Alex Iwobi addresses European hopes after ‘Snapchat derby’ victory
Fulham star Alex Iwobi addresses European hopes after ‘Snapchat derby’ victory
Fulham’s band of brothers aren’t scared to dream of Europe – because Marco Silva is always demanding more.
As the music started pumping in his dressing room after Saturday’s 2-1 triumph over Nottingham Forest,
the restless Portuguese boss was huddled around his analyst’s laptop.
Alex Iwobi claims Silva’s relentless work ethic is infectious and his passion is inspiring Fulham’s
stars to dream big this season. The Nigeria international said:
“He’s somebody that puts 100 per cent into his job every day.
He always analyses, even after the game, we’re all celebrating and he’s still on the laptop analysing.
“That’s just the sort of guy that he is, he always wants to improve and that rubs off onto the players.
The plan was executed to a tee, so it was a very good result for us.”
Iwobi has won the FA Cup with Arsenal and helped save Everton from relegation but the current spirit
within the Fulham camp feels different.
Their Motspur Park base in sleepy south west London suburb New Malden has quickly become one of
the most vibrant training grounds in the entire Premier League – all due to the synergy of the group.
That good-feel factor, coupled with the tactical brilliance of Silva,
has sparked belief they can gatecrash the European qualification places come the end of the campaign.
Iwobi continued after goals from Emile Smith Rowe and Calvin Bassey helped topple Forest:
“The chemistry in the changing room is amazing. We’re not just colleagues or work friends,
we’re actually like brothers.
“You see it all on social media and there’s a lot more that I wish I could post!
But we’re one big family, it shows because Calvin was a bit down at the way Forest scored their goal.
However, for him to respond and score like that, everyone got behind him and we’re so happy for him.”
Footage went viral after the game of Iwobi,
Bassey and Issa Diop dancing joyously after winning the ‘Snapchat derby’ bragging rights against Forest.
Tricky Trees wing-back Ola Aina, a former Cottager,
also frequently posts dressing room videos after matches on the social media platform,
creating an amusing, light-hearted rivalry between the two sides ahead of Saturday’s match.
Amid the camaraderie, the 28-year-old playmaker is keen to keep both feet firmly on the ground,
however, despite acknowledging the importance of recently completing the double over both
Newcastle and Forest, who are above Fulham in the table.
He explained: “To do the double over big teams will definitely give us an advantage but we always
take it game by game.
“It doesn’t matter if the other team is challenging for the European spots or in the relegation zone,
we’ll treat everyone with the same respect.
We just have to keep on pushing, we see the quality in training every day.
“We’re all very ambitious and we take things step by step.
It’s [European qualification] definitely in the back of our minds, though.”
Evergreen talisman Raul Jimenez may not have netted against Forest but he was a persistent goal threat and
set the tone with his pressing and hold-up play.
The Mexican turns 34 in May but Iwobi can’t see him slowing down anytime soon. He concluded on the ex-Wolves striker: “You’d think he’s 24, he acts like he’s 24 as well sometimes! We’re so happy for him, both he and Rodrigo Muniz challenging for the starting spot is healthy.
“They both urge each other to push, even though they’re competing with one another, we’re family and Rodrigo will push him, just like Raul pushes Rodrigo, who scored two the other day.”
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