McCann targets January to ‘ stay on track’ at Hull
A STRONG January transfer window and a result against promotion rivals Sunderland this weekend will go a long way to keeping Hull City’s season on track, according to Grant McCann.
The Tigers, who currently sit second in League One, were due to visit Wigan on Saturday, but a Covid- 19 outbreak in the Latics camp means that they will instead travel to Wearside to contest a hastily rearranged fixture.
And, having beaten another of the division’s fancied teams in Charlton Athletic last time out, City’s head coach is targeting another positive outcome against the Black Cats as the East Yorkshiremen look to cement their position in the automatic promotion places.
“It is important that we stay on track. There’s a long way to go, there’s a lot of games to be played between now and the end of April or May, whenever it may be, we just want to keep ourselves firmly in the hunt for promotion,” he said.
“We do that by trying to keep everybody fit, by trying to make us stronger in January and by winning as many games of football as we can, and the next one is Sunderland.
“Sunderland are strong at home, they’ve been predominantly strong at home for the last few seasons. They’re a team who I expect to be in and around the mix at the end of the season.
“They’ve got players who can hurt you in a heartbeat if you’re not right. So, it is for us to go there and take confidence from the Charlton game, with spring in our step, a clear plan and clear ideas about what we want to do and try and get a result.”
City’s game at Sunderland was originally due to take place on Boxing Day, but was postponed due to a number of Black Cats players testing positive for coronavirus. Cases within Hull’s own bubble then forced them to call off their meeting with Lincoln three days later, and with some of the affected members of his squad only recently back in training, McCann is unsure as to who will be available on Saturday.
“Hopefully the work that we have put into the players this week has got them into the best place for the weekend,” he said.
“But, in terms of how long they can play in the game, whether they can start the game, we’ve just got to make a judement call on that towards the end of the week.”