Kieran Dowell admits he’s still unsure of what the future holds at Hull City in the closing days of the transfer window, with the Tigers sitll active in the transfer market.
The former Everton youngster revealed in pre-season that he didn’t know whether or not he would be a part of City’s Premier League setup, following promotion from the Championship.
Dowell was one of 11 changes to the starting line-up at Stoke City on Tuesday night, and he marked a rare start with a thunderous equaliser to help see the Tigers into the third round of the Carabao Cup.
Boss Sergej Jakirovic can only name 25 players in his Premier League squad once the transfer window has closed, and Dowell could be at risk of missing out on a place.
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The Tigers chief planned to have discussions about his fringe squad members ahead of Saturday’s trip to face Coventry City in the Premier League, with Dowell revealing how the Croatian had urged his players to grasp their opportunity in the Potteries.
Dowell did just that, and being one of the few players in City’s squad with Premier League experience, he hopes he’s done enough to earn his place in the final 25-man group.
“That was the case (a chance to impress). I think the managers made 11 changes, and he said, honestly, that was a chance for lads to show what they’re about, to get some game time, get minutes in the legs. I thought it was a good performance from a lot of us,” the 28-year-old told Hull Live.
“I’m not sure (what the future looks like). Obviously I was on the bench on the weekend (against Manchester United), it was great to be a part of that, but, as footballers you do want to play, that’s why it was important I thought that we get through to this next round because you want to play football as a footballer, so, now it’ll be nice to get more games in the future.
“It is always nice to win on pens, always a bit entertaining, aren’t they, so it builds a bit of confidence, doesn’t it, especially for lads who are sort of fringe players who got a run out.
“Since I’ve joined the club, there’s been a nice quiet confidence about us that we get results, and obviously, there were a lot of doubts towards us on the weekend. We proved a lot of people wrong, which was a nice feeling, and then to keep that momentum going is definitely a good thing, and when there’s 11 changes, it keeps everyone happy getting game time. It’s another game that we’ve got to look forward to as well.”
Dowell says training has certainly gone up a level since promotion, with new players coming in and being keen to impress, while the existing group know they must also reach greater heights.
“The sort of calibre player that you can track now is higher, so we’re signing players who we probably wouldn’t have been able to sign last year in the Championship, so the standard in training has been really good. We’ve been able to do a lot of training with only having 38 Premier League games; there’s a lot more training to do than in a Championship season. I’ve been really impressed with the new lads.”
Attention for City after two early-season wins turns to what many have already labelled a six-pointer between two of the newly-promoted teams at the CBS Arena.
While City were seeing off Manchester United, Coventry’s season started on Friday night with a tough ask at champions Arsenal, with Frank Lampard’s men soundly beaten 3-0, but they’ll be determined to mark their home return in style against the Tigers, while the Tigers will aim to keep the momentum that has been at their backs since the final day of last season.
“Definitely (it’s a crucial game early on in the season),” Dowell added. “Like we keep saying, the magic word momentum, it’s really important in football, isn’t it, and you see Coventry got beaten and we’ve won, so we come into it with a spring in our step, I think.”
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