Marco Silva admitted Hull City had only themselves to blame after a 4-0 thrashing by Crystal Palace on Sunday saw them relegated from the Premier League.
After taking charge at Hull in January, Silva coaxed an improvement in his lowly team’s performances, but it wasn’t enough to save them from the drop to the Championship.
The Tigers’ campaign has been marred by poor signings and boardroom turmoil that contributed to Steve Bruce quitting last year after he had led them to promotion.
Silva acknowledged Hull, who were woeful in a crucial loss to relegated Sunderland last weekend, hadn’t done enough to stay up.
“It is really sad for the club and our fans. We did our best to do something in the last four months, but the players need to understand why this happened and start to win next season,” he said.
“Our players knew this was a final, we prepared like that but gave a goal away at the start. Then it makes it difficult.
“We gave them what they wanted and they were comfortable. We did the same from set pieces.
“It is not a moment to look for excuses, what we felt in the last four or five games is that too many things have happened with our club.”
Despite arriving in England as a virtual unknown, Portuguese coach Silva has become a hot property due to his work in difficult circumstances at Hull.
The former Sporting Lisbon and Olympiakos boss has already been linked with a close-season move to Premier League side Watford and he was coy when asked about his future after the Palace debacle at Selhurst Park.
“We will see about my future. We have to analyse with the board and chairman,” he said.
“I will give my opinion on what to do differently because it is clear to me.”
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