Leonid Slutsky "thankful" to Roman Abramovich

Hull City manager Leonid Slutsky has expressed his gratitude to Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich for helping him to adapt to life in England.

The former Russia and CSKA Moscow boss moved to England earlier this year determined to land a managerial role and was given the top job with the Tigers over the summer.

Slutsky has since overseen a huge overhaul of the squad, bringing in 13 players - including three loan signings from close friend Abramovich's Blues.

"He couldn't get me help a job, but he helped me adapt to England as a country," Slutsky told Sky Sports News. "He recommended the school [where I learned English], when I was in London I stayed at the hotel at Stamford Bridge and Chelsea helped me get a lot of tickets to matches. Now we have free loan players from there.

"[Abramovich] always calls me and asks about how we played last match, our team and our players. I'm very thankful to him and Chelsea for their helpfulness."

Hull have made a middling start to the new Championship season, winning two, losing two and drawing one of their first five fixtures.