The forward has been in electric form this season since arriving from Las Palmas last summer
Oli McBurnie celebrates his goal against Swansea City(Image: Alfie Cosgrove/News Images)
Oli McBurnie continues to impress in the colours of Hull City, after bagging his 12th goal of the season in the Tigers’ gritty win over Swansea City at the weekend.
His thumping penalty was his second goal in as many games for the Tigers, taking his tally in the league to 11 and firmly in the race for the Championship’s golden boot with teammate Joe Gelhardt and Kyle Joseph not too far adrift.
While he might be in the thick of the race for that crown, his team are chasing something else, bigger, and potentially life-changing over the next few months.
McBurnie was City’s beacon of hope when he arrived on a free transfer in the summer, amid the club’s battles with the EFL. There was many raised eyebrows elsewhere that the 30-year-old decided to join City, instead of other potential suitors.
That decision has been vindicated, and then some, with Sergej Jakirovic masterminding an assault on promotion that few inside East Yorkshire believed would be possible, let alone outside, before a ball was kicked.
“I’ve said it since I signed, I think people thought I was bantering or something when I said it at the start, but I genuinely believed in this team and in the club,” McBurnie tells Hull Live. “A big reason for me was that I’ve played with or against most of this squad for years.
“I know the quality that all these boys have. People on paper say, ‘Oh, Hull finished wherever they finished last year, and then why are you going there da da da’, but me knowing the squad, speaking to the manager, knowing Jared (Dublin) and knowing their plans, it was an easy decision for me when it comes to that side of it.
“The position last year, I think, was a little bit false with the troubles from last year and whatever, but it’s a completely different squad from last year, and I feel like I definitely made the right decision. I knew that when I came and when I do make a decision, it’s headfirst and no looking back, and that’s exactly what I’m doing.”
McBurnie also accepts that with City firmly in the promotion race, and consistently one of the form teams in the division both home and away, the Tigers may now have a target on their back.
“Potentially, I think it’s natural if you’re doing well, for the teams to be doing their research and looking for ways to try to stop you from doing so well. I think that’s normal,” he continued.
“I think one good thing about us this year, I don’t think we’ve particularly had one plan. We’ve shown we have various different ways to win games.
“Everyone knows we like to get the ball out wide and cross balls in, but the players that we have will still be able to do that, whether the team sets up to stop that or not, and if they don’t, then there’s other ways we can play as well.
“One of the key ingredients to us doing so well this year is the ability to change in-game and before the game, going into different games about how we actually set up, how we play, whether it be formation, tactics or whatever. That’s a big positive from our side of view.”
Here at Hull Live , we are dedicated to bringing you the best Hull City coverage and analysis.
Make sure you don’t miss out on the latest City news by joining our free WhatsApp group.
You can get all the breaking news and best analysis sent straight to your phone by clicking here to subscribe. You can also subscribe to our free newsletter service.
Click here to be sent all the day’s biggest stories.