Silva delighted with Tigers’ battling spirit

Few predicted Hull City would even be in contention ahead of their trip to Old Trafford, but manager Marco Silva believes their stalemate with Manchester United can be the perfect boost in confidence.

The Tigers executed an almost-perfect gameplan to escape with a 0-0 draw against Jose Mourinho’s side on Wednesday, less than a month after going down 2-0 to the same opposition in the EFL Cup.

More significantly, it gave Hull a valuable point in their bid to avoid relegation, a surprise result against a side who have not lost in the Premier League since October.

And boss Silva was left full of admiration for his side’s character, moving within four points of safety in the process.

“It is a performance of which I am proud,” said Silva.

“It was a very good performance. We played very well as a team and the players showed for me, and for our supporters, big character and very good organisation in big moments in the game.

(OLI SCARFF/AFP/Getty Images)

“In some moments we also showed good quality and had two very good chances to score in the second half. But I think the result is one we deserved.

“I was pleased with the way we defended. Of course, in the second half Manchester United made us have to defend more in our box – it is not something I wanted but we showed the organisation to do it.

“I am happy with the attitude and the spirit that we showed.

“We won only one point. We need more than this to achieve our goal but we will try to do that in our next game.”