Hull picked up a vital home win last weekend whilst Stoke came back from Upton Park with three points to make it a great weekend for the Tigers. Do you think this weekend will be just as good?
I expect Stoke to put up more of a fight than Fulham and our away form
is awful so this won't be an easy fixture for us. But West Ham and
Wigan also have games away to teams with good home records so I don't
predict our position will be any worse by the end of the weekend.
The Potters are well known for a physical style, although we can play in the final third. What kind of display should we expect from Dowie''s Hull?
Hard-workers and a bit of physicality up front seems to be what
Dowie's picked from the squad given to him for the relegation
dogfight. 4-4-2 is our best formation and is what Dowie's used in both
games. 1 up front doesn't work because our midfielders don't get up in
support and our forwards aren't good enough all-rounders to play
without a strike partner, so I would hope Dowie's seen enough on video
not to give that a try.
After last season's last day survival, how do you think this end of season will pan out and will the Tigers survive again?
I think we'll be in the mix until the end of the season. I'm wary of
getting my hopes up because usually when I do this football club has a
habit of letting us down when it matters. But you can't deny yourself
the opportunity to enjoy a Premier League win - you don't see that
many and might never see one again! We play at Wigan in the
penultimate week. That game could be decisive in placing one of the
two teams in the bottom three. Last year all the teams at the bottom
lost on the last day and I could see the same thing happening again as
each of us face big teams.
The picture seems to change week by week so I can't predict what will
happen in the end or say I'm either optimistic or pessimistic.
Hopefully we'll have something to cheer between now and the end of the
season, but the Premier League's not the be all and end all so if we
do go down we're not too big for our boots, as some clubs are, to
think there's no life outside of it.
Are there any Stoke players you are wary of?
I'm sure everybody says Rory Delap's throw-ins but with our three
biggest central defenders unavailable we have reason to be
particularly worried.
Etherington will cause problems for whoever we pick at right-back.
Bernard Mendy played there in the home fixture and gifted him a goal.
Paul McShane is slow and would struggle, but he's likely to move into
central defence in place of Sonko, who can't be selected. For any
Stoke fans interested, Sonko hadn't played since being dropped in
October and relegated to training with the youth team and reserves. He
made his first
Who should we keep an eye out for?
Jimmy Bullard was outstanding in our other fixture when he made his
first comeback and home debut. He's not quite hit those heights since
his more recent injury but I'm sure he will soon as he gets back to
full fitness.
Jozy Altidore is a handful for defenders when he shows some
aggression. Stephen Hunt and Craig Fagan can both be a pain to play
against.
Young defender Stephen Mouyokolo has, since the turn of the year,
begun to establish himself as a worthy first team player, while at the
other end of his career 34-year-old George Boateng is still an
important influence on the field with just enough life left in him.
...and finally, a prediction?
I don't usually use past meetings as a guide but we're unbeaten at the
Britannia Stadium - a 3-0 win followed by three 1-1 draws. Our away
form's got to come to an end some time so I wouldn't rule out a win
but I'd be happy with the draw, and not too disappointed if we lose
but put up a good fight.