Luton and Coventry give City cause for optimism

LUTON Town and Coventry City will face each other on Saturday afternoon for a place in the Premier League after their respective semi-final wins over Sunderland and Middlesbrough.

Some will be horrified by the thought, and others will see it as the ‘Fairy-tale Final’ given the problems both clubs have encountered over the years, but one thing we can probably all agree on, is Hull City should take significant heart from it.

Neither Coventry nor Luton were the favourites to go up this season, despite the Hatters losing in the play-off semi-final to Huddersfield last term.

In the case of the Sky Blues, they had a nightmare start and were bottom of the table in the early weeks, unable to play at home and not for the first time.

Both clubs are believed to have similar-sized budgets, around £6m per year. While not an insignificant amount, it’s paltry compared to some other clubs in the Championship, particularly when you consider the likes of Watford and

Norwich, both of whom were relegated last season and are able to lay their hands on parachute payments.

While Acun Ilicali has given the Tigers a top-eight budget, it does not guarantee you a place in the top eight, of course.

Both the Hatters and Sky Blues have two key factors in their favour – a really good team spirit which gets them through the difficult moments, coupled with good coaching.

City look a well-coached team under Liam Rosenior, they have a clear identity and way of playing. That can be built on, and as long as the recruitment is sensible and works out better than last summer, there’s every chance they can look forward to a promising campaign.

The exploits of the finalists should give them good heart.

Money gets you so far, the rest comes down to the coaching, the players taking on board the tactics - and finally a little bit of fortune, something badly lacking at the MKM in recent months.