Sunday 26 February 2017 14:23, UK
Hull midfielder Shaun Maloney insists head coach Marco Silva has got what it takes to keep the club in the Premier League.
The Tigers' point from Saturday's 1-1 draw against Burnley at the KCOM Stadium, Silva's sixth league game in charge, was not enough to lift them out of the bottom three.
But Maloney said the Portuguese has lifted the sense of forboding and replaced it with an air of confidence.
"I think just overall, from the last six to eight weeks since the manger came in, there's just been a massive turnaround among the squad and the supporters," Maloney said. "There's a feeling of optimism. We do believe we can stay in this league.
"We'll obviously have to improve on this performance, but we've got that optimism and generally the feeling is that we can do it."
Silva could not hide his disappointment after his side let slip the lead against Burnley as Michael Keane's late equaliser salvaged a 1-1 draw for the Clarets at KCOM Stadium.
But the manager insisted his side can play better and quickly turned his focus to next week's game at relegation rivals Leicester, who dropped into the bottom three after Crystal Palace's win against Middlesbrough.
"I don't think he's going to step back," Maloney said of the 39-year-old former Olympiacos coach. "It's constant. There's an intensity about him, every day in training.
"We'll go through what we didn't do right (against Burnley). I think he was pretty disappointed with parts of the game, as we all were.
"We can certainly improve, but there's been some pretty dark moments during this season and it doesn't feel anything like that under this manager."