Davies hopes fellow strugglers will be caught in the ‘rat’ trap

That is the description given to £6.5m signing Shane Long, who crowned his home debut for Hull with their first Premier League goal of 2014.

The man who gave him that moniker was captain Curtis Davies, whose top-class display at the back was perhaps put in the shade by Long and fellow £6.5m striker Nikica Jelavic.

The pair combined in style in the 12th minute, Jelavic flicking the ball inside from the right channel and Long bursting between two central defenders to strike his shot past Hugo Lloris.

Unfortunately for the Tigers, it was not enough to give them what would have been only their second win in 11 games but their overall display provided much heart for the battles ahead.

Brazilian Paulinho was the man who dashed their hopes, firing into the roof of the net in the 61st minute after a long-range drive from Danny Rose, following a square ball from a free-kick, had reached him in the area.

Davies, the man chiefly responsible for denying Spurs as they turned up the pressure after the break – goalkeeper Steve Harper, in for the suspended Allan McGregor, also making a couple of top-class saves – said: “Any game against Tottenham, home or away, is always a point gained.

“It’s just frustrating with the attacking talent they have got in their team with the way they have scored their goal. Obviously, with the free-kick, I heard Dawson (Spurs defender Michael) behind me shout ‘what are they doing?’ and Rosey has a shot from over 30 yards straight into Paulinho’s feet. In terms of his first touch, he deserved a goal but it was so frustrating the way it came about.”

Of Hull’s two attacking home debutants, Davies continued: “It’s early days and we got them in last week when we played a different formation (in the defeat at Palace) but playing 4-4-2 today helped put us on the front foot a bit more rather than being on the defensive side.

“They looked good and their combination for the goal was good. They gave their centre-backs problems because the way Spurs’ full-backs bomb on means it leaves a lot of space down the sides and we tried to exploit that. It’s good that Longy got off the mark and we are just waiting for Jela to do the same now.

“Longy brings great legs, non-stop desire. I have played against him numerous times and he is a rat, he just does not give you an inch.

“By a rat, I don’t mean it in a horrible way because I like him! I mean he runs everywhere, he’s a pain, he’s like a Dickov, constantly running, constantly working and you know he has the quality that when the ball does come to his feet he can finish as well.

“Whether he is having a bad game or not, he does not give you a moment’s rest and that’s what he brings.”

If Long is likened to Doncaster Rovers chief and former Scotland international Paul Dickov, then older fans may spot a likeness to Steve Claridge in the way Jelavic operates, full of twists and turns, delicate lay-offs and an ability to run at defenders when given space.

The Croatian former Everton striker almost opened his account, too, going close on four occasions.

An early volley on the stretch went narrowly over and a free-kick curled just wide. After the break and Spurs’ equaliser and initial dominance, Long chipped the ball over from the right and Jelavic struck the base of the far post before beating the onrushing Lloris to substitute Robert Koren’s through ball only to see Dawson get back and clear.

Of the new strike duo, Davies continued: “They complement each other well and the more they get to play together the more they will get to know each other’s game and, hopefully, we can enjoy the fruits of them scoring more goals together.”

No-one in the Tigers camp is fooling themselves that the battle to stay up is already won. Hull are 13th but just two points clear of the drop zone and head on Saturday to Sunderland, who moved out of the bottom three and level with them by defeating champions Manchester United.

Hull have the best home form of the bottom nine but that will not be enough to ensure safety, believes Davies. “We are all a bit disappointed with today’s result because we are looking at the rest of the results of those below us but it is a good point regardless and we have to keep thinking that.

“We have a big game next Saturday against Sunderland which is a six-pointer whichever way you want to put it because it’s become so tight. There’s just six points between 11th and the bottom now so we we need to start picking up wins because to lose at Norwich and Palace was massive.

“It’s time we started winning games. Home form is important but earlier in the season we came up against the lower teams and managed to win those games.

“Now we have to play against the likes of Tottenham and we still have Arsenal to play here so we have to also start winning the away games against the lower teams because we need to affect them. We need to ensure they do not take points off us.

“We have versatility in our locker but the important thing today was that playing 4-4-2 enabled us to stay on the front foot because playing 3-5-2 can easily become 5-3-2. Today, though, we gave it a good go.”

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Hull City: Harper, Rosenoir, Davies, McShane, Figueroa; Elmohamady (Koren 69), Meyler, Huddlestone, Brady (Boyd 69); Jelavic (Sagbo 88), Long. Unused substitutes: Jakupovic, Bruce, Fryatt, Quinn.

Tottenham Hotspur: Lloris, Walker, Dawson, Vertonghen, Rose; Lennon, Paulinho, Bentaleb, Eriksen; Soldado, Adebyaor (Kane 90). Unused substitutes: Friedel, Kaboul, Capoue, Naughton, Chdali, Sigurdsson.

Referee: A Taylor (Manchester).