Hull City have Premier League look without top-flight concentration in 2-2 draw with Leicester City

A 2-2 draw with Leicester City left us none the wiser about if there will be more next season but the Tigers are certainly in tune with top-flight thinking even if their naivety would see them eaten alive by it just now.

The travails of Burnley have exposed the gulf between the second tier’s cream and top-division stragglers.

Whoever is promoted from the Championship will need big upgrades but Hull at least have a top-flight mindset and owner Acun Ilicali will financially see them right in the way Prince Abdullah painfully has not at Sheffield United.

Whether they make it is unclear after a fourth consecutive draw dropped them out of the top six.

But Saturday's was a very Premier League-style game, minus the tedious VAR delays which would have followed and possibly changed both penalty decisions plus others.

The way Hull and Leicester invite teams on is football's version of "Bazball" – recklessness shrugged off with an arrogant "that's how we play" when it goes wrong but captivating for when it goes right.

Other fanbases might sneer at a 24,605 crowd but for where Hull have and do come from, it was a big endorsement after Tuesday’s boos.

"What pleased me most was we did it our way – the bravery to play out against one of the best teams ever to play at this level," said Premier League coach-in-waiting Liam Rosenior, whose side had more of the ball and more shots on target than Foxes teasing hunters including Leeds United with one win in six.

There was a big but, though.

"We let ourselves down with lapses of concentration," he admitted, "but the only way I can get the players is on the job.

"I'm trying to develop this group to play in a Premier League way. It was man-to-man all over, that's why the game was so good. The level of concentration you need is top.

"To get the results is the next thing. I just need to nudge us another two or three per cent."

Those missing percentages were evident and never mind Premier League football, Hull need to find them for more thud-and-blunder Championship games awaiting. They have three clear weeks – one training in Turkey – to get looking.

They need to be more ruthless and concentrate better.

Fabio Carvalho’s early penalty was far too saveable, unlike Jamie Vardy's, lifted over Ryan Allsop in the 31st minute.

Hull's came from Regan Slater’s one-two with Jean Michael Seri and long dribble. He lacks the technical ability of Seri or the benched Tyler Morton (albeit he is a million miles away from being a donkey), but constantly showed his worth.

Anass Zaroury's touch let him down when picked out in space dead centre of goal after 14 minutes.

It was not the last time Hull needed a genuine centre-forward. Midway through the second half Lewie Coyle put a first-time ball to where Billy Sharp would have been were he not on the bench, and Abdulkadir Omur found Zaroury in a position to do likewise, only to see no one there.

Hopefully when Hull play next Liam Delap is near full fitness.

Carvalho and Zaroury were sharp for their goals – the former pouncing as Zaroury tackled Wout Faes overplaying, the latter’s finish snappy after Hull won an Allsop hump.

The main issues were mental.

Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall hit a post at 0-0 after Allsop played a pass Carvalho, facing his own goal, had little chance of keeping.

Both penalties came when midfielders – Stephy Mavididi and Seri – tangled the wrong side of attackers. Perhaps Sam Barrott was over-eager but the Yorkshire referee is also learning for the Premier League.

Booked for a daft foul, Seri was fortunate Barrott was kinder when he stopped a quick Faes free-kick.

Vardy's second goal criminally came 14 seconds after the restart following Zaroury's. The wily old Fox ran into a big gap between Alfie Jones and Jacob Greaves.

Greaves’ tackle on Vardy at 2-2 looked the most penalty-worthy of the lot. Booked for a foul on Dewsbury-Hall, he is banned for Easter games against Stoke City and Leeds.

Good outweighs bad from him and Hull, but the bad needs work.

"We just have to stay calm, stay measured and know we're on the right track," reflected Rosenior. "The players are showing me they're learning and if we keep doing that on this journey I feel like we can get to where we want to be."

Hull City: Allsop; Coyle, Jones, Greaves, Giles; Slater, Seri; Zaroury, Omur, Philogene; Carvalho. Unused substitutes: McLoughlin, Tufan, Traore, Sharp, Morton, Jacob, Pandur, Christie, Connolly.

Leicester City: Hermansen; Choudhury, Faes, Vestergaard, Justin; Winks, Dewsbury-Hall; Fatawu, Akgun (Ndidi HT), Mavididi; Vardy (Daka 86). Unused substitutes: Coady, Doyle, Albrighton, Souttar, Cannon, Marcal-Madivadua, Stolarczyk.

Referee: S Barrott (West Yorkshire).