Marco Silva unclear over future as Hull City are relegated

MARCO SILVA declined to comment on his future after admitting he will sit down with Hull City's owners in the next few days.
Hull City's Michael Dawson (left) looks dejected during the Premier League match at Selhurst Park, London.Hull City's Michael Dawson (left) looks dejected during the Premier League match at Selhurst Park, London.
Hull City's Michael Dawson (left) looks dejected during the Premier League match at Selhurst Park, London.

The Tigers were condemned to relegation by a 4-0 defeat at Crystal Palace, who had started the afternoon within reach of the Yorkshire club.

With City now down, the focus will turn to the future of a head coach who can walk away this summer.

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His impressive work at the KCOM Stadium has alerted several clubs to the abilities of the Portuguese, with Southampton and West Ham United both understood to be big admirers.

Crystal Palace's Wilfried Zaha (left) and Hull City's Andrea Ranocchia battle for the ball during the Premier League match at Selhurst Park, London. (Picture: Paul Harding/PA Wire)Crystal Palace's Wilfried Zaha (left) and Hull City's Andrea Ranocchia battle for the ball during the Premier League match at Selhurst Park, London. (Picture: Paul Harding/PA Wire)
Crystal Palace's Wilfried Zaha (left) and Hull City's Andrea Ranocchia battle for the ball during the Premier League match at Selhurst Park, London. (Picture: Paul Harding/PA Wire)

The 2,197 Hull fans at Selhurst Park made clear their desire for Silva to stay, even after relegation had been confirmed.

Asked about his future plans, the City head coach replied: “Now is not the moment to talk about this situation.

“I respect the fans too much, they have been amazing since I have been here. First, I must talk to the chairman and the board. The club understands what it needs to do differently. The fans deserve something different.

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“Now is not the time to talk about the future of a, b, c or the manager. The moment is to think what is better for the club.

Hull City's Michael Dawson reacts after the Premier League match at Selhurst Park, London.Hull City's Michael Dawson reacts after the Premier League match at Selhurst Park, London.
Hull City's Michael Dawson reacts after the Premier League match at Selhurst Park, London.

“In the next few days, we (Silva and the Allams) will talk. We will talk before the Tottenham game.”

Pressed on whether he could be persuaded to stay in the East Riding next season, Silva added: “We will see. First, I need to talk with them.

“I have enjoyed these four months in the Premier League. It was a target I had in my career. We tried, we did our best to keep the club in the Premier League.

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“The behaviour of the fans has been amazing but now we must analyse what is best for the future of the club and then see what is better for my career as well.”

Crystal Palace's Wilfried Zaha (left) and Hull City's Andrea Ranocchia battle for the ball during the Premier League match at Selhurst Park, London. (Picture: Paul Harding/PA Wire)Crystal Palace's Wilfried Zaha (left) and Hull City's Andrea Ranocchia battle for the ball during the Premier League match at Selhurst Park, London. (Picture: Paul Harding/PA Wire)
Crystal Palace's Wilfried Zaha (left) and Hull City's Andrea Ranocchia battle for the ball during the Premier League match at Selhurst Park, London. (Picture: Paul Harding/PA Wire)

Hull’s brief return to the Premier League has been a largely miserable affair, little having gone right since last May’s play-off final victory over Sheffield Wednesday at Wembley.

Steve Bruce’s exit plus a summer where no new signings were made until the final 36 hours of the window meant Hull went into the campaign as arguably the worst prepared team in Premier League history.

As for what he believes has been the cause of relegation, Silva added: “This is something I will say first to the chairman.

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“But it is easy to understand what is best for the club because, for me, a team wins or loses in a season when you make your preparations.

Hull City's Michael Dawson reacts after the Premier League match at Selhurst Park, London.Hull City's Michael Dawson reacts after the Premier League match at Selhurst Park, London.
Hull City's Michael Dawson reacts after the Premier League match at Selhurst Park, London.

“We tried to do many, many things during the January market but it is not a good sign when you need to change six or seven players and lose two important players as well, when you need to sell these players to go in the market.

“There are many things (that need to change). The chairman tried to change the situation during the January market but it is better to do this during pre-season, to prepare better for the season.”

City headed to Selhurst Park knowing only victory would do to take the relegation scrap to the final day following Swansea City’s triumph at Sunderland the previous day.

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A horrible blunder by Andrea Ranocchia, however, set the tone as Palace went ahead through Wilfried Zaha inside just 133 seconds.

Christian Benteke and Patrick van Aanholt also got on the scoresheet along with Luka Milivojevic, who converted the 13th penalty that Hull have conceded in the league this term.

Silva, who succeeded Mike Phelan in the first week of January, added: “This was a sad day for the club. For our fans as well. They didn’t deserve what has happened to the club this season.

“Now the most important thing is for the club to understand what they did in a bad way, like how they prepared.

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“It is clear to me that we start to win one season or lose one season through the preparation. And how we make our roster, how we prepare the team for the season.

“In the last four months, it is clear we did our best. We tried to get the team to play at another level. We got the boys and the fans to believe, to fight until this moment.

“Now is the time to analyse the moment (and what went wrong). I will give the chairman and the board my opinion to help them understand what needs to be done differently to make sure this does not happen again.”