Hull City owner Acun Ilıcalı gave an interview to Turkey's Anadolu Agency after his team drew 0-0 with Aston Villa. Despite Hull City recording an unbeaten start across their opening three matches without conceding a goal, he stated that the team's sole objective at this stage remains Premier League survival.

Ilıcalı said: "First and foremost, I am very happy and proud. I'm proud of these players. The biggest difference with our team is that the players play with genuine heart, and I can feel that in every moment."

Hull City underwent a major squad overhaul this summer, but many of the new signings have not yet reached match fitness. Ilıcalı explained: "Probably around ten new signings still cannot play, and only three or four can. They will gradually start playing later. The players who were promoted with us from the Championship are still fighting hard."

He specifically highlighted the team's impressive defensive record. Hull City kept clean sheets in all three playoff matches last season, including the crucial final, and have also not conceded in their opening three Premier League matches this season.

"This is very interesting. We didn't concede in three playoff matches, and those were very important games including the final. Now we haven't conceded in three league matches, which means we have six consecutive official matches without conceding. Our opponents ranged from Middlesbrough to Manchester United, so I think this is a remarkable achievement."

After the opening three rounds of the new season, Hull City and defending champions Arsenal are the only two teams yet to concede a goal in the Premier League. However, Ilıcalı believes it is too early to talk about such things.

He said: "We are thinking long-term. We did a lot of work this summer. My team and I handled transfers, and I believe we made the right decisions. I have great faith in my core team and believe we assembled the right squad. Our scouting team worked hard to provide suitable candidates, and we selected the best fit from among them. I think the current squad is very young and has great potential."

Ilıcalı also spoke about the team's Greek goalkeeper Konstantinos Tzolakis. He revealed that he had been watching this player for a long time.

"To be honest, Konstantinos Tzolakis is a very special player to me. How do I remember him? Unfortunately, because he saved three penalties against Fenerbahçe in a Europa Conference League match, which was a painful moment for me. Since then, I have been thinking about him and watching him."

Ilıcalı revealed that Hull City's goalkeeper coach Erbil Bozkurt had recommended three goalkeepers at that time. "I trust him completely. He gave me three options: one in Spain, Konstantinos Tzolakis, and one German. I chose Konstantinos Tzolakis, and it seems that choosing him was fortunate."

Despite the team's impressive start, Ilıcalı emphasized that Hull City will not change their season objectives because of it.

"Our only goal is to survive in the Premier League. If we can achieve survival, we will have a huge advantage next year. Because if we receive the same budget next year, we won't need to sign 18 players; we can directly bring in five or six top-quality players. This will be an enormous advantage for us. So we must stay in the Premier League."

Hull City will visit Chelsea in the next round. Regarding this match, Ilıcalı said he would be very satisfied if they could pick up one point away from home.

"Of course, I would be very happy to get one point. If we can get a point there too, then at this stage all our plans would be basically achieved, and we could even say we've done better than expected. That's like having an additional buffer of 3-4 points in our hands."

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