League is sole focus for Hull
form as they went down with Blackburn Rovers and Rotherham United, while Burton survived.
The optimist in me notes that they did so after the last inspired January window for the Brewers, the one in which Nigel Clough brought in Luke Murphy, Michael Kightly, Lasse Vigen Christensen and Cauley
Woodrow on loan, along with Marvin Sordell and Luke Varney on free transfers.
We thought that was a busy window at the time.
Hasselbaink’s 2021 window blows it out of the water for quantity. But then again, the task ahead is bigger too.
TOMORROW’S opponents for Burton Albion, Hull City, have only promotion to target now after being knocked out of the EFL Trophy on penalties by Lincoln City on Tuesday night.
They go into the game leading League One on goal difference from Lincoln, who have a game in hand, but have not convinced many of their promotion credentials as yet.
Barry Cooper of the Hull Daily Mail assesses the Tigers.
■■Focus on the league
The old classic when you get dumped out of a cup competition.
Make no mistake about it, manager Grant Mccann took the EFL Trophy seriously from the start and that was proved by his team selections.
Given what happened last season, it was important to register any win no matter what the competition and this gave the Tigers a platform to grow their confidence.
■■Now there are no excuses.
The transfer window is closed and there are no cup games to distract the players.
Burton is the next stop on the promotion trail and while the Brewers are bottom of the league, City have already found out to their cost this season that if they’re not on their game they’ll come unstuck.
■■The Doc
It’s taken a while for Greg Docherty to settle into life with Hull City. However, in recent weeks, the former Rangers man has really come into his own.
Maybe it’s just a coincidence, but since scoring his first goal, against Oxford United before Christmas, Docherty has moved up through the gears and his performances are really taking off.
He’s playing with a swagger, a confidence and is fast becoming an integral part of the City engine room.
Having players like Docherty and George Honeyman inspires others to
work as hard.
■■Playing in a ploughed field
It’s not a secret that the KCOM Stadium playing surface has been waving the white flag for a number of weeks.
The lack of breathing space between the end of last season and the beginning of this has had a big impact, as has the weather in Hull over the winter months.
Questions need to be asked about the management of the pitch and the funding behind it.
However, it’s only fair to highlight the number of other clubs throughout the country that have similar problems.
■■Freshness
George Honeyman, Mallik Wilks and Jacob Greaves have all played an awful lot of football in a very short space of time, so for Mccann to have been in a position to rest some of his first team players (for the EFL Trophy tie) will have been an important decision.
Wilks has looked absolutely shattered in the last couple of weeks and another 70 or 80 minutes into his legs on a sapping pitch could have done more harm than good.
Letting those players have a rare night off was important, not just for their physical health but their mental health and, hopefully, City will feel the rewards in the weeks to come.