Hull City: Phelan stands by Robertson

Hull boss Mike Phelan believes Andy Robertson will learn from the mistake he made during Monday’s 3-0 defeat to Manchester City at the KCOM Stadium.

The Tigers were matching Pep Guardiola’s side during the opening 72 minutes of the contest but with the score at 0-0, Scotland international Robertson lunged into a challenge on City winger Raheem Sterling which led to a penalty, and ultimately the opening goal of the contest.

The Citizens went on to add two more goals and Phelan conceded after the match that the penalty incident although he is convinced Robertson will learn his lesson.

Phelan said: “Andrew Robertson is heartbroken over it because he knows he has suffered a harsh lesson there – he has got to stay on his feet and shuffle the player across into an area where maybe his team-mate can do a little bit better at making an attempt to tackle.

“But he has learned from that, and he will learn a lot more at this level. He is a good young player, and a good kid to have around but he has made a basic, basic mistake that has cost us.”

The defeat means Hull remain bottom of the Premier League standings, with 12 points from their opening 18 matches, and they have only won one of their last 16 league games.

Phelan will be hoping his side can improve when they host Everton on Friday. The Tigers are priced at 4.50 to win the match while the Toffees are available at 1.85 and the draw is 3.50.