Future is looking bright with Hull City's young Tigers, says Ahmed Elmohamaday

While the Tigers’ senior first-teamers have rightly been bestowed with bouquets for making light of their squad deficiencies en route to two gutsy Premier League wins over Leicester and Swansea, Elmohamady says that the contribution of the youngsters should not be overlooked.

A number have helped to fill out Hull’s bench for their opening two league matches, with caretaker-manager Mike Phelan working overtime to somehow try and engineer a much-needed transfer breakthrough following the much-publicised impasse on the recruitment front this summer.

Phelan is still striving to bring in additions before the weekend’s home game with his former club Manchester United, with the Tigers having reportedly tabled a bid for out-of-favour Tottenham midfield man Ryan Mason.

Meanwhile, more worrying news for the Tigers fans revolves around Aston Villa’s ongoing interest in Abel Hernandez, whom they want to sign ahead of next Wednesday’s transfer deadline.

The Uruguayan missed the 3-1 League Cup second-round win at Exeter City, with coach Stephen Clemence stressing that the decision was down to football reasons, with the player having a slight issue with his groin.

Despite ongoing issues regarding recruitment, the elevation of the likes of Greg Olley and Jarrod Bowen, who were handed their debuts against the Grecians, is ensuring some vestige of positivity for the future, something acknowledged by Elmohamady.

The Egyptian, captain for the night on Tuesday, said: “A few of the young lads played all the game and did very well. It gave them some experience in the first team and they were very good.

“We are delighted for the young lads to get the games. We know how tough it is at the minute with us not having enough players. So it is a very good chance for them to show how good they are.

“They have all worked hard and trained very well.

“When you are young, it can be very difficult for one or two to go through to (first-team) training. Now we have seven or eight training with us every day for the last month and half now and they are all very good players and lads outside and inside.”