Davies wants Hull to raise ambitions beyond staying up

The Tigers jumped up to seventh place in the Premier League following Saturday’s 1-0 victory over West Ham United – their second successive top-flight win – on a weekend when several upsets took place.

Top of these was the champions’ loss to West Brom at Old Trafford, with Manchester City’s defeat to the Baggies’ West Midlands’ neighbours Aston Villa not far behind.

Steve Bruce’s side’s victory was their third in six Premier League matches this term and moved them onto double figures, three points and five places above David Moyes’s Red Devils, who find themselves below mid-table in 12th place.

Davies said: “I’ve said to someone that if we end up above Man United, then I will streak around the KC. I’m not too sure about that (happening), but it’s just good that we are doing well.

“With Man United down there, it’s a big shock for the league. 
Ultimately, we are just doing all we can to push as high up the table as we can and, hopefully, be safe as quickly as possible.

“You need to try and aim for 10 wins (to be safe). But we want to go further than that.”

Saturday was another occasion when every man of the Hull side contributed to a real team effort against the Hammers, with Davies earmarking special praise for defensive duo Abdoulaye Faye and Maynor Figueroa, and midfielder Robbie Brady.

Figueroa was impressive after missing the Newcastle win on compassionate grounds, while 35-year-old Faye was outstanding against his old club in his first top-flight outing since May 2011.

Brady, playing through the pain barrier with a hernia injury, also contributed fully, netting the only goal of the game from the spot, his fourth of the season.

Davies said: “Maynor obviously took last week out because of his personal problems and did really well against possibly West Ham’s best player in (Mohammed) Diame, who looked really good and, if I’m honest, I was delighted when they took him off. But Maynor did well against him.

“I knew what Abdoulaye had, having played against him a few times. Sitting on the bench on Tuesday watching him was like a masterclass. He was so calm and composed. Saturday was made for him.

“He signed for West Ham to do that job and they played into his hands by kicking balls up to him. He’s tidy with his feet, but is happy to go and head it, as I am, and maybe it worked in our favour that they did go direct.

“Robbie Brady going through the pain barrier for the team is brilliant. If this is him playing with an injury, once we can get him injury-free and flowing, all the best to all the right-backs in the Premier League, that’s all I will say.”

Brady, Stephen Quinn and Paul McShane have all been named in the provisional 26-man squad for the Republic of Ireland’s World Cup qualifiers against Germany and Kazakhstan, but David Meyler misses out.

Brady’s involvement could be jeopardised by the hernia problem which has troubled him since the start of the season. Leeds’s Paul Green is also in the party.