Fulham boss Marco Silva believes his side deserved to beat Rotherham to advance to the fourth round of the FA Cup. 

Bobby De Cordova-Reid's thumping strike saw the Cottagers edge to victory despite a lack of cutting edge in the final third. 

It took an error from Millers defender Sebastian Revan to give Fulham the lead but Silva was adamant they earned their spot in the round of 32. 

He said: "Going through in the competition was our aim, our desire was clear and we deserved it. 

"It was not the best performance when you have so many changes in the XI. They have the quality to start a Premier League game but when you change seven or eight from one game to another it will always have an impact. 

"I knew that was probably going to be the situation but I would like to see a better performance. 

"But it was our obligation to control the game like we did, to not give many things to them — they didn't have one shot on target."

The Portuguese boss emphasised the importance of this competition for Fulham and knows the effort needed to mount a run.

He said: "It's really important. Last season, we did it and got to the quarter-finals, and people who saw that game know we deserve more from that game. 

"For different reasons, we didn't get to the semi-finals but to go to that stage and perform the way we did, you have to be proud. You have to work hard to go further than that."