Hull City confirm Marco Silva and his backroom staff have 'opted to leave' the Tigers

Hull City have confirmed their manager Marco Silva has decided to leave the club on Thursday (25 May) in order to "further his career".

The 39-year-old took charge of the Tigers earlier in January after replacing Mike Phelan at the KCOM Stadium. The Portuguese coach was brought to the club in order to help Hull avoid relegation from the Premier League.

However, Silva was not successful in helping Hull drop to the Championship as they finished 18<sup>th in the league. He has been followed by assistant head coach Joao Pedro Sousa, first team coach Goncalo Pedro and goalkeeping coach Hugo Oliveira to leave the club.

"The Club can announce that Marco Silva has opted to leave his position as Head Coach. Confirmation had been delayed due to finalising the terms of his release," a statement read on Hull's official website.

"Marco was offered the opportunity to continue the work he has done in the four-and-a-half months he has been at the KCOM Stadium."

"Unfortunately, after considering his future, he has chosen to leave in order to further his career and departs along with Assistant Head Coach Joao Pedro Sousa, First Team Coach Goncalo Pedro and Goalkeeping Coach Hugo Oliveira," it added.

Hull have not confirmed Silva's successor at the club as they will undertake a recruitment process to appoint a new manager. Silva's managerial style has seen him being compared to Manchester United's Jose Mourinho. He has been dubbed as "mini-Mourinho."

The former Sporting and Olympiacos manager is not short of options as he is already attracting interest from the Premier League. Sam Allardyce helped Crystal Palace avoid relegation and revealed he will retire from management.

Watford also confirmed that Walter Mazzarri has stepped down from his position as the Hornets manager. According to Goal.com, Silva has been linked with a Palace and Watford jobs, while FC Porto are also in the race for his services.