Fulham boss Silva relishing return to Hull

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Fulham boss Marco Silva says he will always have a soft spot for Hull City, who will host the Whites on Saturday.

Silva was given his first job in English football by Hull in January 2017 with the team rooted to the foot of the Premier League amid a backdrop of angry supporters who were boycotting matches in protest at the club’s owners.


However, the Portuguese almost kept them up in a memorable 22-match spell that saw Liverpool beaten 2-0 in the league and the team reach the semi-finals of the EFL Cup ,where they lost 3-2 on aggregate to Manchester United despite winning the second leg.

Ultimately the task proved to be too great and after briefly climbing out of the relegation zone the team went down and have shown little sign of returning to the top flight since Silva departed to join Watford.

Saturday will see Silva return to Hull for the first time since he left and said the brief time he spent in east Yorkshire is one he remembers fondly.

“It will be special to go back, there is no doubt about it,” Silva said.

“They were the people that opened the doors to English football for me and the way they welcomed, not just me, but my staff as well was fantastic.

“Even if it was a short period there, the relationships we created and the environment around the club was really good.

“Unfortunately we didn’t achieve the main thing but we changed so many things for that football club and I will never forget the way the people supported me.

“I have kept some connections with some people that worked there and they are very good people it will always be a special club.”

Hull recently sacked manager Grant McCann after the club was bought by new Turkish owner Acun Ilical, who then appointed former Glasgow Rangers striker Shota Arveladze.

Despite the Tigers’ 3-1 loss to Derby on Tuesday, Silva said recent wins over Blackburn and Bournemouth show they are a team that could potentially cause his free-scoring league leaders plenty of problems.

“Last Monday they change the ownership and manager and the last few games they have got some good results,” he said.

“A new coach with new ideas has come in and they will be looking to react from their last game in front of their own fans so it will be a tough game for us.”