Preston North End v Hull City: Ryan Giles is smiles better after coming in from the cold

The team's fortunes are starting to pick up too, with new coach Ruben Selles recording his first win at the third attempt at home to Swansea City on Saturday, not just ending a 13-game winnless streak, not only lifting Hull off the bottom of the table, but taking them out of the Championship relegation zone.

No wonder Giles was in a good mood as he spoke to the media.

"It's nice to be out of it," he said when asked about his team escaping the bottom three.

"There's no hiding, it's been a tough period for everyone involved in the football club, fans included.

"The most important thing was to get that result, wherever that might be, and we got it at the weekend. I don't look too much at the table but we know where we are within it.

"We can only control what we can control and that's Preston and getting a result there. If we do, we won't need to worry about the table as much.

"It's been tough for everybody so it was a sigh of relief to get that result. You could feel it towards the end of the game with everybody sticking by us. Every tackle, every clearance was important and you could really feel it."

Giles has felt the disappointment more than most. Signed permanently in the summer after last season's loan, he kicked off the campaign filling a hole on the left wing, then moved back to his proper position only to lose his place to the right-footed Drameh in mid-September.

"I'm not going to lie, it's been tough for me," he admitted. "I want to play football, that's what I've always wanted to do.

"My role before this manager came in was to be there for the other boys as best as I can and if I get the opportunity, try and take it.

"I've played a lot of games throughout my career already and I want to keep doing that.

"When you're not in and around the team and you go several games without playing developing that match-sharpness, that match-fitness, can be tough.

"We're training every day and we're obviously very healthy footballers but I don't think anything compares to your match-fitness. That's the challenge if you're not getting in the team so much.

"There's lots of factors behind that, are you doing things properly?"

If he is enjoying his football more, it seems most everyone in black and amber are.

"The gaffer, Jamie (Oliver-Pearce) and Toby (Loveland, his assistants) have tried to implement their ideas quite quickly and they've given us all a bit of a lift, trying to put an arm around us and encourage us that we're a good squad," said Giles.

"On paper we've got a really good squad. We lost Fab (Carvalho) and Liam (Delap), big hits for us, but I still think there's more than enough not be anywhere near where we are right now, and to be looking towards the top end of the table."

The uplift under Selles is not the only reason Giles thinks he has come back at a great time.

"People enjoy their Christmas and they wake up on Boxing Day morning ready for the football wherever that's going to take them," he said.

"It's certainly a tradition in my family that we all look forward to Boxing Day football. I'm one of the fortunate ones to get to play in it."

Selles is expecting a payback.

"If he can give us something different it's that he should want to do things more than anybody," he argued. "He should want to prove a point and work harder than anybody – not only him but some others. That's what I'm expecting."