ON THE BRINK!
No Premier League victories in May for four seasons. No wonder Hull are . . .
STEVE BRUCE admitted his Hull players ‘ froze’ i n this relegation showdown and said it was a ‘ sad indictment’ of his team that they could not handle the pressure.
With two games left, it is no surprise Hull are odds- on favourites to drop to the Championship with Burnley, who went down despite this victory. Hull’s final fixtures are away at Tottenham next weekend and then at home to Manchester United. Not only have they turned i n too many poor displays, they also have no pedigree of finishing top-flight seasons strongly.
Across four different seasons in the Premier League they have never won a match in the month of May.
Asked i f his players had frozen because the Burnley game was one they needed to win, Bruce said: ‘Yeah. The expectations, if we’re being honest, we haven’t been able to handle. When we’re expected to go and beat somebody, we find i t difficult.’ His body language and utterly downcast expression was all too telling that he probably did not hold huge belief that being underdogs in the last games will help.
‘ I’m totally shocked and disappointed at the performance,’ he said. ‘Nervous or not, we’ve got enough experience to perform at the level we need. We looked nervous, edgy, slow to move the ball, slow to get after it. We made silly mistakes, gave stupid fouls away. We produced an awful display and got what we deserved.
‘To win a game in the Premier League you need to have seven or eight players playing well. Today we had one or two and that’s a sad indictment of a team capable of much better.’
Danny Ings pounced for the winner to end a l ong goal drought for him and for Burnley — one that undermined their survival hopes at the most damaging time. He will depart in the summer, almost inevitably for a Premier League team.
He scored while Hull were down to 10, Michael Dawson having been ordered off to change his bloodied shirt by referee Martin Atkinson.
Sean Dyche talked about the need for an improvement of every aspect of the team — ‘technical, tactical, physical, mental’ — to survive after coming up from the Championship.
‘It is not just about money, it is about people. People upgrading their thoughts, their beliefs, their skill set, in order to win games at a very high level. There will be a strong thirst to be back in there. Certainly from me, my staff and my players.’ SUPER STAT: Ings scored for the first time in more than 17 hours. HULL CITY (3-5-2): Harper 6; Chester 6, Dawson 6, McShane 6 (Jelavic 57min, 5.5); Elmohamady 6.5, Livermore 6 (Myler 57, 5), Huddlestone 6, Quinn 6.5, Brady 6; Aluko 5.5 (Hernandez 66, 5.5), N’Doye 5.5. Subs not used: McGregor, Rosenior, Bruce, Robertson. Booked: Jelavic. BURNLEY (4-4-2): Heaton 6; Trippier 7 Duff 6.5, Shackell 7.5, Mee 6; Boyd 6.5, Arfield 6, Jones 6, Taylor 6; Ings 6, Barnes 6. Subs not used: Gilks, Keane, Ward, Kightly, Ulvestad, Vokes, Jutkiewicz. Booked: Ings. Scorer: Ings 62. Man of the match: Jason Shackell. Referee: Martin Atkinson 6.