Mourinho Backs Hull Head Coach Marco Silva

Jose Mourinho has given new Hull head coach Marco Silva his backing as he settles in at the KCOM Stadium - for all bar three games.

The two Portuguese coaches face each other on Tuesday night when Manchester United host their Premier League rivals in the first leg of their EFL Cup semi-final, live on Sky Sports.

They will meet again in the return game towards the end of the month then again in the league six days later, with Mourinho keen to see his compatriot succeed in all fixtures but those.

Mourinho said: "He is known in Portugal as one of the good young coaches. He went to Greece and nobody knows what he did there.

"Nobody knows he was a champion and now he comes to the big one. It's a big opportunity for him so I hope he loses three matches and wins every [other] one.

"He was not given a top job immediately. He did well at a small club in Portugal then he went to Sporting, one of the top three.

"He won the cup, I think he finished second in the league then he goes to Greece and is champion with Olympiakos.

"For me, he is very stable. In spite of being a young guy, he is very experienced and very mature and I look forward to having another Portuguese guy here.

"In this case, he is from a younger generation than myself and I would love him to do well but we all know it's hard to jump when you are bottom of the Premier League."

Silva has been compared to Mourinho but the 39-year-old, who had a relatively modest playing career, has dismissed that.

He said: "I think it's not fair to make the comparison. Mourinho is Mourinho and the other coach is the other coach.

"For us, it's fantastic to have two Portuguese coaches to go against each other at Old Trafford. We are playing against a big team and it's a tough, tough game for us for sure.

"It's good to see Mourinho tomorrow and I am sure we will talk a little bit but during the 90 minutes we are opponents. Mourinho will try to win and I will try too.

"It is our challenge and our goal for this game to give ourselves a chance of qualification in the second match." 

Credit: Skysports.com