Mourinho sure Hull can meet target of staying up

Jose Mourinho as good as confirmed this in the wake of Saturday’s 2-0 win for Chelsea at the KC Stadium.

“Oh yes,” said the Portuguese when asked by the media if he was expecting the Blues to visit East Yorkshire again next season.

“A very good manager and they have big evolution in the team. The team is more than comfortable playing at this level. Everything is difficult in the Premier League, but I think they will do it and I wish they do it.”

Mourinho’s words were genuine. There is a mutual respect between the Blues’ manager and his Hull counterpart, whose invitation to enjoy a post-match “glass of red wine” was gratefully accepted when their paths crossed outside the KC media suite.

Personal friendship was not, though, the reason behind Mourinho’s glowing verdict on the Tigers.

It was more to do with how far Bruce’s team have come since being given the runaround on the opening weekend when Chelsea marked Mourinho’s return with as scintillating a first half-hour’s display as the Premier League had seen in a long time.

Goals for Oscar and Frank Lampard were scant reward for the total dominance the home side enjoyed on that baking hot August Sunday.

Even though Hull improved markedly once Tom Huddlestone and Jake Livermore, signed in the days leading up to the new season, had been introduced, there were many who feared for Bruce’s newly-promoted team.

Gradually, though, those concerns started to ease as Hull ground out decent results on home soil – the staple diet of any survival fight for a team new to the Premier League.

A 3-2 triumph at Newcastle United also helped, as did impressive showings in defeat at both Manchester City and Everton.

However, it took the 3-1 home win over Liverpool on the first day of December – a result that left Bruce’s men 10th – for the plaudits to really start flowing.

An unfortunate defeat to champions Manchester United and the six-goal hammering of Fulham over Christmas then cemented the belief among pundits and opposition supporters alike that Hull’s position in the top half of the table is no fluke.

Transfer targets are, judging by prospective record signing 
Nikica Jelavic’s positive comments yesterday, also starting to see the Tigers in a different light – something that pleases Bruce hugely.

“We are changing people’s perceptions,” said the Hull manager. “We are better now than we were six months ago, and when you look where we were 12 months ago, it is great that we were disappointed (at the weekend) not to have played well against Chelsea.

“That says a lot. Very quietly, we have been going about our business and anyone who has watched us can see we have a decent squad here.”

That “business”, Bruce hopes, will this week see the successful conclusion of deals to sign Jelavic from Everton and West Bromwich Albion striker Shane Long for a combined fee of £14m.

By Premier League standards, such a sum is unremarkable.

By Hull’s, however, it is unprecedented.

Let us not forget, it is less than seven years since Caleb Folan became the club’s first seven-figure arrival.

Before that, the £250,000 spent on Falkirk’s Daryl Duffy 18 months earlier had represented Hull’s biggest outlay.

Gone, therefore, are the days when Hull fans could only look on enviously as the likes of Leeds United, Sheffield Wednesday and Sheffield United splashed the cash in Yorkshire.

With that in mind, Bruce was asked at last Thursday’s pre-match press conference ahead of the Chelsea game if Hull fans had ever had it so good.

“That is for others to write,” was the Hull manager’s response. “I am just delighted to be 10th.

“The big thing is we are top of what I consider to be our (mini) league.

“Certainly, for a newly-promoted side, and even though there is nothing much in it (in terms of points), the players need a pat on the back.

“As I have said repeatedly, though, we are only halfway through. The challenge is whether or not we can stay with it and stay the course.

“In Hull’s first Premier League season (2008-09), it went wrong after Christmas. The challenge for us, then, is to stay here.

“But what we can see is how far we have come in 18 months. The aim is to keep it going. We don’t want to be a six-month wonder.”

The times they are a changing in Hull. And very much for the better.

Fact file on Nikica Jelavic

Born: August 27, 1985.

Clubs: Hadjuk Split (2002-07), Zulte Waregem (2007-08), Rapid Vienna (2008-10), Rangers (2010-12), Everton (2012-)

Best season (career): 2009-10; Appearances (all comps) 48, Goals 29.

Best season (Premier League): 2011-12. Appearances 13, Goals 9.

Club honours: Croatia league title 2003-04, 2004-05; Croatian Cup 2003; Croatian Supercup 2004, 2005; Scottish Premier League 2010-11; Scottish League Cup 2011.

Croatia: Appearances 31, Goals 5.

Debut: Oct 8, 2009; v Qatar. Scored in a 3-2 win.