The Tigers have just four games left to clinch their play-off place
Oli McBurnie has been one of Hull City’s shining lights this season (Image: MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Hull City striker Oli McBurnie says it’s important to have an appreciation of the progress the Tigers have made this season, but has demanded his teammates grasp the moment.
City are sixth in the Championship, four points clear of seventh, and have just four games left to clinch a place in the play-offs, starting with the visit of Birmingham City on Saturday.
McBurnie has been pivotal to the Tigers’ surge this season and netted his 15th goal in league and cup at Sheffield United last weekend, though the game ended in a hugely controversial defeat.
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After the struggles of last term, coupled with a difficult summer working under transfer restrictions, City have been one of the surprise packages of the season and have their own destiny firmly in their grasp.
“I think it’s that perspective, it’s not kind of resting on your laurels and saying ‘Oh, we’ve done well to get in this position, so let’s just be happy with that’,” the forward said.
“We had this goal in our mind within that dressing room the whole season, whether people outside thought we were being serious or not, we genuinely did.
“Now we’ve put ourselves in that position it would be silly not to keep striving and getting to where we want to be. At the same time it’s that perspective of, we’re in a great position, we’ve put ourselves in a great position, nobody’s given us that position.
“We’ve put ourselves in a great position and that’s not by luck or by anyone giving us that position, it’s by us putting the performances in. So, four games to go, our fate’s in our own hands, dust ourselves down and we go again.”
The striker admits there’s not too much concern with what other teams are doing, and how they may, or may not, be handling the pressure.
“That’s probably more one for other people,” McBurnie explained. “I don’t know whether they’re feeling the pressure or not. We just kind of do what we have done all season and go about our business, not really talk too much about other people, not really talk too much about what our plans are, just keep that in-house and go out on the pitch and try and do our business.
“Try to work the way we have worked all season. That’s been how we’ve done things this season, and it’s been pretty successful for us, so we’re back to the training pitch and just do what we’ve done all season.”
McBurnie also admitted that his nine-game goal drought wasn’t too concerning after bringing that to an end with a fine finish against his old club.
“It’s football. As a striker, you have spells where you score goals, and you have spells where you don’t score goals,” he explained. “I think that’s 21 or 22 goals and assists this season, it’s something that I’d be happy with. I’m not too fussed who is scoring the goals as long as we’re winning games, so, yeah, it was nice to get a goal.”
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