Hull City must tighten up at the back '“ Ahmed Elmohamady

Ahmed Elmohamady has warned his Hull City team-mates to sort out their set-piece defending '“ or risk another defeat at the hands of Crystal Palace on Saturday.
Ahmed Elmohamady: Unhappy with the last two goals Hull City have conceded.Ahmed Elmohamady: Unhappy with the last two goals Hull City have conceded.
Ahmed Elmohamady: Unhappy with the last two goals Hull City have conceded.

Palace visit the KCOM Stadium at the weekend buoyed by their first Premier League win in eight games over Southampton and boasting a striker in Christian Benteke who stands at 6ft 3in tall.

Gaston Ramirez is two inches shorter than the Palace man, but still rose highest to nod Middlesbrough to a priceless victory in the battle at the bottom on Monday night.

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It was the second successive game in which Hull have conceded from a corner after Gareth McAuley headed West Bromwich into the lead last time out at the KCOM.

“To concede from a set-piece for the second time is not good enough,” blasted Egyptian full-back Elmohamady.

“These are the first two goals we’ve conceded from set-pieces this season and we’ve already spoken about it as a team and the manager spoke of it in the dressing room.

“Palace are a team with some really good players, especially up front, so we have to concentrate.

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“Set-pieces will be important. We need to improve in that area because it’s not good enough to be conceding from set-pieces.”

The sense that Hull are desperate for the transfer window to arrive has never been as great with their current travails stemming from their failure to add to the squad until the penultimate day of the summer window.

But before that seminal moment of January 1 when the market re-opens, Hull still have five Premier League games to play with 15 points up for grabs.

Following the visit of Palace on Saturday, the Tigers face two trips to London to face Tottenham next Wednesday and West Ham three days later.

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Manchester City visit East Yorkshire on Boxing Day before the year closes on Friday, December 30, when Everton come to town.

“The next one is the important one,” stressed Elmohamady.

“It’s an important three points to try and get us out of the bottom three. We have to keep our heads up and stay confident. We have plenty to work on, set-pieces and taking our chances, because in this league you don’t get many chances.”