A Silva lining for Foxes.. I hope not
HUDDLESTONE HOPING DROP RIVALS DON’T GET THE BOUNCE NEW BOSS MARCO HAS GIVEN HULL
IT’S working for Hull, but Tom Huddlestone hopes changing manager will not be so successful for fallen champions Leicester.
Hull face Foxes on Saturday in a relegation showdown that could have a huge bearing on the fate of both clubs.
They are locked on 21 points in the drop zone and Huddlestone is concerned Leicester’s dire form could improve on the back of Claudio Ranieri’s controversial sacking.
He knows clubs often get a bounce from a new manager coming in – Hull have been transformed since Marco Silva took over at the start of last month.
“Normally there’s a bit of a reaction when you get a new manager, so we’ll wait and see what happens,” said the Tigers captain.
“We’ve got a lot of games coming up against the teams around us so we need to keep performing and take maximum points from those games.
“The Leicester and the Swansea games will be massive and will go a long way to deciding who goes down.”
Silva admits Leicester are more of a mystery under caretaker boss Craig Shakespeare and he will study them closely tonight against Liverpool.
“It’s better when you know what the opposition normally do,” said the Hull boss. “If they will change some things in their behaviour or ideas, we need to be ready for all situations.”
Silva (below) must lift his players after they let slip two precious points – and the chance to get out of the bottom three for the first time since mid-October – when they gifted Burnley an equaliser.
They allowed Michael Keane (below) time and space to control Robbie Brady’s corner before firing home.
Huddlestone – who had thought his first Premier League goal since March 2014, albeit from the spot following Keane’s handball, might settle this contest – was gutted
“I was hoping that would be the winning goal,” said the midfielder. “It was really disappointing to concede, especially from a set-piece.
“It feels like two points dropped. The manager is big on our set-pieces and it’s disappointing to concede in that fashion.”
Burnley were pleased to collect only their second point on the road this season and club skipper Tom Heaton felt it proved they are over their FA Cup humiliation against non-league Lincoln. The England goalkeeper claimed they forgot that massive disappointment when they reported back for training on Monday. “We came in on Monday morning, put it to bed, and moved on,” he said. “Don’t get me wrong, it was a tough day last Saturday. We were all desperate to go as far as we could in the competition but I think we showed that there was no hangover. “Losing to lower-league opposition, it’s tough to take, especially the way it panned out. But we put it to bed with that display.”