Liam Rosenior felt his injury-hit Hull side produced their “most important performance of the season” as they claimed a 1-0 Sky Bet Championship win over Sunderland.
Hull were without nine senior players as they travelled to Wearside, but Fabio Carvalho’s second-half strike proved sufficient to secure them a hard-fought success at the Stadium of Light.
The victory lifted the Tigers into the play-off positions and helped convince Rosenior that his side was capable of mounting a sustained promotion push in the remainder of the campaign.
The Hull boss said: “I think it’s the most important performance of the season.
“I wanted to see what we were made of. Coming to an amazing stadium like this, playing in front of nearly 40,000 people, when it feels as though everything is going against you.
“We’ve had some terrible luck with injuries, I think we’ve been on the wrong side of some questionable decisions at time and been on the wrong side of results when we deserved to win.
“It’s easy for a group to lose faith and lose belief in what we’re doing, but they showed they still believe, they showed they’ve got faith in each other and they showed they’re willing to work for each other.
“I thought every single player was brilliant in terms of their engagement to the game.”
Rosenior reserved special praise for Liverpool loanee Carvalho, who swivelled to volley home his side’s winner with 19 minutes remaining.
He said: “The technique for that strike was top. In this league, if you have players who can take advantage at key moments, then you’ve always got a chance.
“It’s fine margins in this league. We played Sunderland at home and Jack Clarke popped up with a magical goal. Tonight, we played Sunderland away from home and it was Fabio who popped up with the magical goal.”
Sunderland’s defeat means they have lost three games in a row in all competitions and manager Michael Beale had to listen to his own fans chanting “you’re getting sacked in the morning” in the wake of Carvalho’s winner.
Beale said: “I’d ask the fans to get behind the players – I get the frustration.
“They can see the effort on the park from the players and any help they can give them, they have to understand the strength of that.
“When you’re at home and at a club like this, you expect to win and we’re the same, we’re bitterly disappointed.
“I’m only a month into the job. It shows the expectation on managers now.
“I think the fans have to get behind the players on the park because they’re a young group and I don’t think they realise the strength of their support to that young group in there.
“I’ll take what comes my way, I’ll take the responsibility of managing this club. It is what it is, if you win games people are happy and if you don’t, they’re not.”
Nagelsmann announces Germany's provisional Euro 2024 squad
Julian Nagelsmann has named a 27-man provisional squad for hosts Germany ahead of Euro 2024.
The biggest surprise in the squad was the inclusion of a fourth goalkeeper, as Stuttgart goalkeeper Alexander Nubel received his first senior call-up.
Mats Hummels is one of the big names left out despite helping Borussia Dortmund on their way to the Champions League final, while Bayern Munich’s Leon Goretzka is also absent once more.
Julian Brandt, Niklas Sule and Karim Adeyemi miss out on a place in the tournament, while Serge Gnabry and Timo Werner are both out through injury.
After winning just one of his first four games in charge, Nagelsmann changed things in March and was rewarded with back-to-back victories.
Nico Schlotterbeck won 71 per cent of his tackles in the Bundesliga - the highest figure in Europe's big-five leagues this season (at least 70 tackles), and is back in the national squad for the first time since September.
Aleksandar Pavlovic missed the March friendlies due to injury but is a welcome recall - Bayern have an 83.3 per cent win ratio with Pavlovic in their team in the Bundesliga this season, but that drops to 53.3 per cent when he is not in the side.
Schlotterbeck, Niclas Fullkrug, Toni Kroos and Antonio Rudiger will all link up with the squad late due to their involvement in the Champions League final.
The final 26-man squad must be submitted on June 7, meaning at least one player will be dropped before the start of the tournament.
As the tournament hosts, Germany begin their Euro 2024 campaign in the opening game against Scotland on June 14.
Germany squad
Goalkeepers: Oliver Baumann (Hoffenheim), Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich), Alexander Nubel (Stuttgart), Marc-Andre ter Stegen (Barcelona)
Defenders: Waldemar Anton (Stuttgart), Benjamin Henrichs (RB Leipzig), Joshua Kimmich (Bayern Munich), Robin Koch (Eintracht Frankfurt), Maximilian Mittelstadt (Stuttgart), David Raum (RB Leipzig), Antonio Rudiger (Real Madrid), Nico Schlotterbeck (Borussia Dortmund), Jonathan Tah (Bayer Leverkusen)
Midfielders: Robert Andrich (Bayer Leverkusen), Chris Fuhruch (Stuttgart), Pascal Gross (Brighton), Ilkay Gundogan (Barcelona), Toni Kroos (Real Madrid), Jamal Musiala (Bayern Munich), Aleksandar Pavlovic (Bayern Munich), Leroy Sane (Bayern Munich), Florian Wirtz (Bayer Leverkusen)
Forwards: Maximilian Beier (Hoffenheim), Niclas Fullkrug (Borussia Dortmund), Kai Havertz (Arsenal), Thomas Muller (Bayern Munich), Denis Undav (Stuttgart)
Chelsea players want to fight for Pochettino, says Palmer
Cole Palmer says the Chelsea players want to fight for Mauricio Pochettino, and credits him for Chelsea’s late challenge for a European spot this season.
There has been speculation in recent weeks that Pochettino may not remain Chelsea manager after the end of the season, despite their strong run of form.
Chelsea moved sixth in the Premier League table after holding on to beat Brighton 2-1 on Wednesday with 10 men after Reece James’ late sending-off thanks to goals from Palmer and Christopher Nkunku.
Palmer has proven instrumental for Chelsea in his debut season, scoring 22 goals in the league, but the youngster was quick to move the focus to Pochettino’s work.
"For it to be in our hands to get sixth place is a big thing for us," Palmer told BBC Sport.
"Chelsea are a big club and everyone wants to finish higher than sixth, but you have to look at where we were at the start of the season.
"All credit to the manager. All the players love the manager and want to fight for him."
Chelsea have lost just one of their last 13 Premier League matches, winning each of the last four, meaning they only need to avoid defeat against Bournemouth on Sunday to claim a top-six finish.
Pochettino was full of praise for how his side saw out the win against Brighton, saying: "So happy for the players, they deserve the full credit for the way that we worked, our approach to the game and the way we tried to apply all of the work we were doing on the training ground.
"I am proud. To face a team like Brighton is always difficult here. We are so happy because the three points mean we are closer to achieving what we want."
'If they want me, I will stay' - Fernandes on Man Utd future
Bruno Fernandes says he will stay at Manchester United if the club wants him to be part of their future.
As the transfer window draws closer, the United captain is reportedly attracting interest from several Saudi Pro League clubs and Bayern Munich.
Fernandes, who joined the Red Devils from Sporting CP in January 2020, has two years left on his current contract after signing an extension in 2022.
Speaking to Sky Sports after their 3-2 win over Newcastle United on Wednesday, Fernandes stated his commitment to the club.
"If they want me, I will stay," he said. "I will be here until... I said the club needs to want me.
"I feel that the club wants me to be a part of the future, so, as I said always, I don't want to be a player that the club doesn't want to have."
Fernandes has scored 15 goals in all competitions this season and got his 12th assist when he picked out Rasmus Hojlund for United’s third goal against Newcastle.
Erik ten Hag had already expressed his confidence that the Portugal international would stay at the club, and he reiterated that upon hearing about Fernandes’ post-match comments.
"Absolutely the club wants to keep Bruno. There's no question, I think," Ten Hag said.
"He gives always his best. He's an example, even with injuries he's playing. He loves football, but he wants to win.
"I'm very pleased with his performances across the season because for him, it's not easy when so many players are injured around him and every time, he has to carry the team."
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