‘Boro win has given us confidence’: Grant McCann
Grant McCann. Picture credit: Hull City
Hull City head into the Yorkshire derby at Huddersfield on Saturday with renewed confidence following their much-needed win against Middlesbrough, manager Grant McCann has said.
The Tigers face the Terriers with their tails up following a 2-0 victory over Boro at the MKM Stadium last time out; a result which lifted McCann’s men out of the bottom three in the Sky Bet Championship.
They return to league action following the international break, which gave McCann and his staff the chance to rest players - and get others back off the injury table.
Asked what the Middlesbrough win had done for City at a pre-match press conference today, McCann said: “We are hoping it’s going to give us some confidence going into the next six games before the next break.”
After a tough start back to life in the Championship, City lie in 21st position with a points total of nine from 11 games. Huddersfield are seventh with 17 points.
McCann said: “The message before the Middlesbrough game to the players was look, Middlesbrough are six points ahead of us, they are mid-table - can we win this game and go three behind them? We’ve done that.
“Again, we go into a game on Saturday with a team who’s had a very good start in Huddersfield - we win the game we go five behind them. That’s how tight the Championship is.
“That’s the mindset we have to approach this game with. But we also have to know that that’s a lovely outcome, but we have to concentrate on the process to make that happen.”
The City boss described the Tigers’ return from the season so far as “average”.
“If I’m going to be totally honest, in terms of points it’s been an average 11 games for us,” he said.
“We wanted to be in a better position, of course we did, but some of the performances, in fact quite a lot of the performances, have been good but we know we need to win games.
“But over the last couple of games I’ve been really pleased with the togetherness of the group. We probably haven’t been at our best but we’ve managed to pick up four points, and that’s all that matters, really, sometimes.”
City also head into Saturday’s fixture with 20 fit outfield players to choose from for the first time this season, which McCann said was a nice problem to have in terms of selection.
‘CAN’T WAIT TO GET STUCK IN’: George Honeyman. Picture credit: Hull City
McCann said: “I’ll tell you what’s nice at the minute, for me really, is the fact I’ve got twenty outfield players and two very good goalkeepers to pick from.
“We haven’t had that for a while, so it’s given me good dilemmas, it’s given me sleepless nights a little bit, but really good dilemmas.”
The players returning to fitness include the influential midfielders Tom Huddlestone and George Honeyman, who have both trained with the team over the last week, McCann said. Both are ready to start if needed.
But the Tigers boss said it was “not good news” on defender Alfie Jones, who is still struggling with a hamstring injury after what McCann described as a “last-ditch sprint in the box” in the 1-1 draw at home to Blackpool on September 28.
Jones was likely to be sidelined for at least another month, McCann said.
One of McCann’s key selection decisions will be who to choose for a full-back berth between Lewie Coyle and Josh Emmanuel, who have both impressed when selected.
Fans’ favourite Honeyman, who is back in action after an ankle operation and then a groin injury, told reporters he was rearing to go.
He said: “I just can’t wait to get stuck into it and see where we can go in the next few months.”
Asked how important it was for City to do well this season to erase the memory of the club’s disastrous exit from the Championship last time they were in the division, Honeyman said: “Yeah, absolutely.
“I signed for the football club to try and get us back in the Premier League, and that ambition hasn’t changed.
“I think we’ve seen so far this year, everyone we’ve played, there’s no one to be scared of on the day, so we have to take great confidence from that and know that we’ve got to back ourselves in every game, and I don’t see why we can’t go out and win every game.”
In other news, City have extended the club’s partnership with technical kit supplier Umbro by another year.
The initial one-year extension will cover the 2022/23 season as the club continues to navigate and assess the impact of Brexit and the Covid-19 pandemic, it said.
The iconic sportswear manufacturer first joined forces with the Tigers in 2007 and has provided the club’s kits continuously since 2014.
Joe Clutterbrook, Hull City’s chief commercial officer, said: “We are thrilled to be continuing our existing excellent relationship with Umbro, who have provided us with products to a consistently high standard over the last seven years.
“All three of this season’s kits have been wonderfully well received and we are excited to see what innovative and adventurous designs they come up with next.”