Hull's Silva seeks rare away victory at Southampton
(Reuters) - Hull City must focus on picking up results on the road starting on Saturday at Southampton if they are to avoid Premier League relegation, manager Marco Silva has said.
Silva, who took over from Mike Phelan in January, has overseen a dramatic upturn in Hull's fortunes at the KCOM Stadium, with the team unbeaten in eight league games.
However, the East Yorkshire club, currently 17th in the league and two points clear of the relegation zone, have had little success on their travels, not winning away since last August.
"It is clear for me what we need to do to change our away form. I hope the players understand that too," Silva told in a news conference on Thursday.
"We prepare for away games exactly the same as we do for home fixtures. I want our boys to stay focused to play football and keep organisation as well.
"We have to do our work well and take points at Southampton. We have to believe in our work."
Silva has no fresh injury concerns, although defender Omar Elabdellaoui is still struggling with a back problem from last month.
The Portuguese boss, however, was pleased to have striker Oumar Niasse available to play again after his red card and three-match ban against Watford last week was overturned on appeal.
"It is really important to have Niasse available for Saturday," the Portuguese boss added.
"It was a fair decision to have the red card rescinded. It is enough for us to play without one player in the match."
Hull face a daunting trip to ninth-placed Southampton - a ground where they have failed to pick up a league victory since 1951 in the old second division.
(Reporting by Hardik Vyas in Bengaluru; Editing by Hugh Lawson)