1 week Ago By [email protected] (Barry Cooper)
Hull City skipper Lewie Coyle says it's vital his players go into Saturday's huge showdown with Derby County believing they can secure their Championship survival. Victory over the Rams would ensure City remain a Championship club after a season of struggle, but defeat could see them heading to Portsmouth on the final day in the bottom three, and staring relegation in the face. Coyle, though, remains wholly upbeat about the Tigers' hopes of survival , having been buoyed by Monday's battling come-from-behind victory at home to Preston North End.
The Rams arrive in East Yorkshire on the back of a terrific win of their own, winning 3-1 at West Brom. That was their fifth win in the last 10 games, the same form as resurgent Luton Town , which has given both clubs fresh hope of staying in the league when it looked unlikely just a month or so ago. "Everybody's fighting for their lives.
It means so much. There's so much at stake for fans, but for us as players as well. We all have families, we're trying to provide for our families, and it's personal pride as well," the skipper told Hull Live on the eve of the club's biggest game for some time.
"You're going to get the best out of people when there's that much at stake. Of course, people are going to be doing everything they can to pick up their results. We just need to take care of our own business.
Thankfully, we're in a position where that's what we need to do, and that's the aim going into Saturday. "We're going into the game like we have all the games this season, looking to get three points. The spot we're in, let's be realistic, if we win on Saturday, it's done.
That needs to be the mindset going into that game, which it would have been anyway, regardless of where we were in the table. To have some clarity to go and beat Derby on Saturday, and it's done (is a big positive)." If City can win a second successive game under Ruben Selles for the first time, they'll be able to enjoy their post-match lap of appreciation in front of a fanbase that has endured a campaign of struggle this term, certainly compared with the relative highs of last season, something the 27-year-old is desperate to see.
"I think the boys deserve that as well," Coyle said of a possible lap of appreciation to thank fans for their backing. "It's been a tough year for everybody. Everybody involved at the club.
It's not the spot we want to be in, certainly as players and staff. I know the fans don't deserve for us to be in the spot that we're in. Ultimately, we are, and we have to come out of that, which we will.
It'll be nice to finish, having the last home game, three points and have that feel-good factor going into the last game." Watching City at the MKM Stadium in previous seasons has been a struggle, and this has been no different. Things have improved in recent weeks, however, with the Tigers winning three of their last six, and their only defeat coming against rivals Luton Town.
Coyle says he doesn't know why results on home soil have been so poor for so long, though the recent upturn is a big plus and gives them a chance of getting out of trouble. "It's one of those things. It's strange how football pans out; we've not had a great home record across maybe the past two or three seasons," the defender mused.
"As to why, that's a million-dollar question. You can't quite put your finger on it, but we've shown that we have started to turn the home form around, which is important no matter what football club you're at. You have to have good home form to have any chance of being successful or having a decent season, so it's nice that at the back end of the season, we've started to turn that around.
" Seeing a club he cares for so much struggle so much will have hurt Coyle, especially given the hope fans had when last season finished, even if the Tigers did miss out on promotion. Despite the on-field turmoil, he says he has relished the responsibility of leading the players through a tumultuous period. "It's my job at the end of the day; last season's gone, and last season's done.
I can't dwell on last year or think we were here last year. We are where we are. We've got two games to go.
I know what it means to me, and I know what it means to the lads downstairs (in the training ground). "Of course, there's that personal connection with me being from here, which is something that's very, very close to me, and I'll be doing everything I can in my power. I know the boys are, I know the staff are, to do the right thing for this football club.
"I've enjoyed it," he admitted. "I've been through a lot worse. This has almost been a breeze, this sort of pressure, this sort of challenge, life chucks a lot of things at us and that tests your character and you find out what you're really about.
"For me to have a group of guys, a group of staff relying on me, looking at me as the captain to lean on, and when it gets tough, I've fully enjoyed that. That's something I thrive off, and I feel like that's me at my best when I'm under pressure, I'm being shot at, I'm being relied on. That's usually when I come alive.
"I don't see football as a whole lot different to life, to be honest. You can use the same values as you use in life in football, and I feel like that's helped me. Everybody, not just me.
That's not me just saying I've been through stuff; every single person in life is going through something that you don't know about, but you can actually use that to your advantage in a lot of moments. I've certainly drawn on personal experiences to help me and the lads, even probably without knowing it. Life throws stuff at you, so try to spin it in a positive way and use it to your advantage.
" Saturday's game is heading towards a sell-out with just a few hundred tickets left in the West Stand upper, and Coyle has called on the supporters to recreate the second half atmosphere generated against Preston to help roar the Tigers on to their most important win in recent memory. "Stick together," the skipper said as he addressed the supporters directly. "It has to be all of us that do it.
You saw the impact you had on the game against Preston. We got the goal back, the noise straight away is lifted, and we can hear you. When the second goal goes in, they are the sort of moments you want to play in, you want to hear the crowd, you want to feel it.
We do feel it on the pitch. Some players say they don't, but I can assure you everybody does, so we need you there in full force, as loud as you can and let's do it together. "We need that.
We'll need that on Saturday. It'll be a tough game. They're scrapping for their lives.
We are, and we need that. We need to draw on the crowd. The crowd was fantastic against Preston, and for sure we need that (backing) more than ever.
" Given the season City have had, the players could be forgiven for feeling nervous about what could happen if they don't take care of business, but Coyle says the dressing room chatter is positive. "Probably stop thinking about the sort of what ifs, talking about the relegation and all the rest of it and the impact it has. We're not thinking that way, we're not speaking that way.
We're talking about going into the game, winning the game, and it's done. You can put a negative spin on it. You have a lot of people preying on your downfall, but I know what's inside that dressing room.
I've said it for a number of years, and especially this group, even more so. "Where we're at the minute, because we've had to go through those tough times, we've had to go through those dark periods, and that's when you find out a lot about people. I'm more than assured that there's more than enough in that dressing room to take care of business, and we'll be absolutely more than fine.
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