David Moyes has paid credit to Hull City, saying the Tigers deserve to be sitting in the top half of the Premier League after the opening five games of the new season.
Sergej Jakirovic’s Tigers have adapted well to life back in the Premier League, only suffering their first defeat last time out at Newcastle United by the odd goal in three, having found themselves two down early on before fighting back and threatening to take something from Tyneside.
City have beaten Manchester United and Coventry City, whilst claiming creditable draws at home to Europa League winners Aston Villa, and away at big-spending Chelsea.
The Tigers return home on Sunday for the first time in a month, and face Moyes’ men, who sit a place above their hosts in the table and are unbeaten in the top flight, though they’re yet to taste victory on the road in their last seven.
“They’ve been great, and I think it’s a great credit to them,” Moyes said. “The momentum you get from getting promoted is really important. They’ve built on it, they’ve added lots of good, good players to their group. I don’t think anybody will take Hull lightly.
“They’ve started the season so well, we certainly won’t. It’s gonna be a tough game, but we think we’re in good form as well, and we think that we can keep going and we want to keep winning.”
The Tigers were written off by almost everybody before a ball was kicked, but their performances against the likes of United, Villa, Chelsea and Newcastle have shown that they are capable of competing, and Moyes says those results have been no fluke.
Speaking ahead of Sunday afternoon’s clash, Moyes commented: “Well, I think everybody probably had (taken City lightly). I think they’ve gained confidence with their early results in the league, which has helped them. But I’ve got to say, watching their games, they’ve thoroughly deserved the results, and they’ve been in all the games they’ve been playing.”
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When it comes to his squad, Moyes says Vitalii Mykolenko could feature in East Yorkshire, while Christian Nørgaard may be involved after returning to full training during the long international break. Those who weren’t away, including the Dane, featured in a 3-3 draw with Championship side Blackburn Rovers behind closed doors.
“[Mykolenko] has got a chance for Sunday, the extra day might help,” Moyes continued. “We’ll see. We’ve just got the England players back today (Friday) for the first time, so hopefully they’ll all be fit and ready to go.
“We had a behind-closed-doors game, and we got [Nørgaard] the first minutes he’s had for a long time. He’s making progress. I don’t know if he’s quite ready yet to be involved, but with our numbers being so short, it might be something I have to look at. If I had my way, I would certainly give him a good bit more time, if I could.”
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