Boss Silva revels in stunning Hull revival
Hull City boss Marco Silva was thrilled as the Tigers boosted their Premier League survival fight with three more precious points.
Former Sunderland midfielder Alfred N’Diaye marked his debut by poking Hull in front after a mistake by Liverpool goalkeeper Simon Mignolet.
That set up a fine 2-0 win which continues the Tigers’ dramatic revival, and continues the Reds’ calamitous recent form under boss Jurgen Klopp, with Everton reject Oumar Niasse bagging the killer second goal.
Silva’s impact has been immediate and clearly inspiring, as a team stacked with new faces – Kamil Grosicki was another debutant, with Andrea Ranocchia, Omar Elabdellaoui and Evandro also starting – gelled together superbly.
Silva however was less inclined to pick out the impact of his transfer window acquisitions and instead focused on the way in which the belief of the whole squad has sparked what once seemed an unlikely survival mission.
Silva said: “It’s important if we take these players that they can improve the squad (but) for me, it’s not important which player scores or which player gives the contributions.
“I always want our squad toplayasateam–thisisthe most important thing. We keep our organisation and focus and play as a team. Some moments it’s the players who came in January, and in other moments it’s our keeper. When I came here the atmosphere was not the best and we were the last team in the table. I didn’t see our supporters in the stadium but now I saw a fantastic atmosphere.
“I believe, and I want all the players and supporters and everyone else who works at the club to believe as well.”
But for two glaring misses from Philippe Coutinho and some resolute Hull defending, it might have been different.