Marco Silva: Fulham boss almost went to club abroad before taking job

Fulham boss Marco Silva revealed he almost moved to coach a club abroad before taking the Craven Cottage job last year.

The 44-year-old completed his goal of winning the Championship with a 7-0 demolition of Luton on Monday.

His focus immediately switches to securing Premier League survival in west London next season.

But he has revealed it was a "big decision" for him to drop down to manage in the Championship.

"The first chat I had with the owner [Tony Khan] was really important for me because in that moment I had almost my decision made to start working in a different country," he told BBC Radio London after victory against Luton.

"My aim was always to come back to [the] Premier League and I came to the Championship with the full desire to do well [in] my job, to help these players and of course it's a fantastic feeling to go back to the best competition in the world with this football club."

The Portuguese manager had previously worked at Hull City, Watford and Everton in the Premier League but had not experienced England's second tier before moving to west London.

Under his stewardship, Fulham have scored 106 goals and won 90 points in 45 games, winning the title with a game to spare and scoring five goals or more on seven occasions.

The club's last two promotions to the top flight have been followed by swift relegations back to the Championship.

Striker Aleksandar Mitrovic broke Guy Whittingham's 42-goal modern record for the second tier with his brace against Luton and Silva will be looking to his star man to replicate that deadly form next season.

"Even when he [Mitrovic] is scoring goals for fun he is always the next day the same guy, same professional, working hard and trying to learn in every single moment," Silva added.