Elliot Stroud says Saturday’s huge Premier League showdown with Ipswich Town at the MKM Stadium is a game Hull City have to win as the Tigers look to return to winning ways.
Sergej Jakirovic’s men haven’t won since a 1-0 success at Coventry City in late August, but have gone unbeaten at the MKM Stadium this season so far with a win over Manchester United, followed by draws against Aston Villa, Everton and Brentford.
The Tractor Boys will arrive in East Yorkshire level on 10 points with City in the Premier League table, albeit two places lower and have already claimed a win on the road, with that coming at Crystal Palace, while they’ve lost at Manchester United (5-2) and Manchester City (3-2) away from Portman Road so far.
Both clubs came up through the Championship last season, and already, the game is being viewed as significant, with many expecting both to be mired in the fight to stay in the league as the season wears on.
Victory for City would see them move onto 13 points ahead of next weekend’s trip to face champions Arsenal at the Emirates, and continue what has been a fine start.
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“Every game and every point in this league is really important, but those are the kind of games, with two newly promoted teams, that we just have to win,” Stroud told Hull Live. “Coming into that game, we’ll have to really do our best to get to three points.
“We all have the same aim to get three points out of every game, but every game is different, so right now we take one point, and then of course we have to get as many points as we can. Coming up now, it’s a full focus on the Ipswich game.”
Stroud was restored to Sergej Jakirovic’s starting line-up against Brentford last weekend, as he continues to get to grips with the challenge of playing abroad and in one of the world’s toughest leagues.
After coming from Sweden’s Allsvenskan, where he played for Mjällby, the 24-year-old admits the step up in quality is significant, but something he’s grasping as time goes on.
“It’s a huge step, and the quality is much, much higher here, both on our side and also the opposition,” the Swedish international confessed. “The players you face are much quicker and better with the ball. You have to be really, really focused and switched on during every play, otherwise you will get punished.
“All the lads in the team and the coaching staff have done really well too, just welcoming me and trying to make me feel as welcome as possible. They’ve all done a great job, and I think I’m in a good place right now.”
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