‘Momentum is great but we start again on Saturday’: McCann refuses to get carried away by winning streak

STAYING FOCUSED: Grant McCann. Picture credit: Hull City

Grant McCann is refusing to get carried away by the blistering form that has seen his Hull City side take maximum points from their last four matches in the Sky Bet Championship.

City head to Reading on Saturday as the division’s form team, having cemented a remarkable turnaround in fortunes by delivering their fourth win on the bounce at home to Millwall last weekend.

After spending an agonising few weeks in the bottom three, the Tigers are now in 19th place with a healthy return of 21 points from 20 matches.

Reading sit two places and one point behind them, after the Royals were deducted six points last month for breaching English Football League financial rules.

Speaking at a pre-match press conference today, City boss McCann was asked how impressive the current run of four straight wins was.

He said: “It’s good, yeah, we are pleased, but that’s not going to help us win on Saturday. Like I say before, we win, we lose, we draw, we get on to the next one.

“We try and prepare the team as best we can and be consistent with our approach, so yes, momentum is great in football, and confidence is great; we know we have to be at the same sort of levels, and if not more, to try and get another three points on Saturday, because we’ve looked [at] and studied Reading for the last week or two and they’re a very good team at this level.”

Responding to another question, McCann said he did not know whether he had won five on the bounce as a manager before. He could know for certain on Saturday.

City have now fresh injury concerns, and McCann said it was “a wee bit more positive” on that front, with Manchester City loanee Matt Smith [hamstring] and striker Tyler Smith [hamstring] both both back in training and expected to travel in the squad.

Defender Brandon Fleming is also back in training after nine weeks out.