Marco Silva named new Hull City manager following Mike Phelan sacking

Hull City have appointed Marco Silva as their new head coach until the end of the season, the club have confirmed. Silva, 39, replaces Mike Phelan after the former Manchester United assistant manager was sacked after just 85 days in charge on Tuesday (3 January).

The former Estoril, Sporting Lisbon and Olympiacos boss has signed a contract with the Tigers, taking on his first job in English football with the club sat rock-bottom of the Premier League. They have failed to win in their last nine games.

Silva's first game in charge will be the FA Cup third round tie against fellow Premier League strugglers Swansea City, with their new manager Paul Clement also overseeing his first official game in charge. He will be joined by assistant head coach Joao Pedro Sousa, first team coach Goncalo Pedro and goalkeeping coach Hugo Oliveira.

Vice-Chairman Ehab Allam told the club's official website: "Marco is a young coach who has impressed us with his philosophy and football style. He has a great track record and we feel this is a bold and exciting appointment in our aim to retain the Club's Premier League status. Marco will be bringing in his own back-room team who have all played their part in his recent success. We are already working hard with Marco and his team to deliver some key additions to our squad during this transfer window."

A huge EFL Cup semi-final clash also looms large, with Hull travelling to United for the first leg of the tie on Tuesday 10 January.

In his first job in management, Silva guided Estoril to promotion back to Portugal's top tier in 2012 before Sporting came calling two years later. He was tasked with replacing Leonardo Jardim, who left to take over at Monaco, but managed to end Sporting's six year trophy drought in winning the Taça de Portugal in his first season in charge in the 2014-15 campaign, also securing Champions League qualification.

Just four days later, however, he was sacked by the Portuguese giants. A return to management beckoned the following month when he took over at Olympiacos in July 2015, guiding the Greek giants to a famous 3-2 win over Arsenal in the 2015-16 Champions League campaign. He went onto lead the club to a record 43rd league title before leaving at the end of the season, citing "personal reasons" for his sudden departure in June last year.