Opinion: Hull City should extend patience in 49-year-old following hectic summer | OneFootball

Shota Arveladze is under pressure at Hull City after the Tigers’ performance and results dropped off dramatically before the international break.

Hull are now just one point above the relegation zone having lost four on the bounce, but strangely enough they are also only four points off of the play-offs, demonstrating the evenly-matched nature of the middle section of the Championship.

The Tigers have conceded five more goals than any other team in the league and there lies the problem.

The club did not invest anywhere near as much money in the backline this summer compared to in the final third, and for that reason Arveladze has been left with a very top-heavy group.

There are similarities between Arveladze at Hull, and the start to the season that Steve Cooper is enduring at Nottingham Forest in the Premier League, both managers have such a large squad and so many new faces, that it is going to take them much longer than other teams in their league to work out what their best XI is.

It remains to be seen whether either manager will receive the patience to complete that process.

Arveladze does not have a lot of credit in the bank, and will not have convinced many supporters that he is a better manager than Grant McCann, who was dismissed without doing a lot wrong last term.

But that said, it is likely that an inconsistent start to the season at Hull would have been overseen by the vast majority of managers given the make-up of the squad.

At their best, the Tigers have looked like a side who will be comfortably in mid table this term and may even have hopes of a top half finish or better still flirting with the play-offs.

Alternatively, their defensive disaster-class at Swansea City last time out would have increased concerns amongst the supporter base that another relegation battle is on the cards.

Quiz: Did Hull City win, draw or lose the last time they played at these 18 stadiums?

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Anfield

W D L

The international break would have provided the Georgian with some very important time to reflect on the first ten games of the season, assess his squad as a whole and work on combatting this recent poor run on the training ground.

Fixture-wise, the remainder of 2022 is looking pretty kind as they have already played the likes of Sheffield United, Burnley, Norwich City, West Bromwich Albion, Queens Park Rangers and Bristol City, the decision makers should give Arveladze at least another four or five games to give a fairer reflection of his capabilities in the dugout.