The 23-year-old played a key role in the Under-21s stirring comeback at the CBS Arena
Cody Drameh admits the opening weeks of the Championship season have been tough after losing his place to Hull City skipper Lewie Coyle, but remains determined to try and impress Sergej Jakirovic to win back his place.
Drameh played for City’s Under-21s and claimed two assists to help the Tigers fight back from 2-0 down to win 3-2 at the CBS Arena, despite playing the second half with 10 men after Ramell Carter was sent off before the break.
He was withdrawn in the final stages in the Midlands with a sore hip, though that issue is not expected to cause him any further problems as he looks forward to a visit to another of his old clubs, Birmingham City, next weekend.
The former Leeds United full-back started the campaign in Jakirovic’s first eleven, but lost his place to Coyle following his return from injury before being deployed on the right side of midfield at Watford.
Drameh stayed in the team for the visit of Preston North End last Tuesday but was one of three players hauled off at half-time with City 2-0 down, before they staged a second half comeback to get a point, and then he did not get off the bench on Saturday against Sheffield United.
Despite that frustration, Drameh remains determined to get back in Jakirovic’s team, and hopes his impressive second half showing in the Midlands will have left a good impression.
“It’s been a bit tough,” he admitted in conversation with Hull Live. “There’s gonna be competition in all parts of the first team. We’ve got a big squad, so that’s just football.
“I think I’ve experienced the highs and lows of the Championship in two games. Those things happen; obviously, I’m not planning to play poorly against Preston. I’m trying to do my best, and at the end of the day, it was just one of those things that happens on the day.”
Drameh says it’s not about sending a message to Jakirovic; instead, for him, it’s about getting out and playing football, whatever that game may look like, and also helping the young players develop and learn from him.
“Absolutely (making a good impression). You want to make a good example for the young boys in the team and try to curate a winning culture,” he continued.
“I’m happy that the boys got to experience that, and I know they’ve been experiencing that throughout their season. Really, really happy (to get two assists). I’m just happy to be playing football, to be honest. A little bit of a lack of game time in the first team, but to just play football at any level for me, I’m very happy to be playing.
“I just want to play football. I’ve enjoyed playing football since I was a young kid, so it’s not really about the message from me; I just want to play football.”
Drameh’s terrific second-half display saw him expertly cut the ball back for Sammy Henia-Kamau in a goal strikingly similar to the one he laid on for Oli McBurnie at Watford, before collecting Pharrell Brown’s sublime ball to cut Coventry’s defence to pieces with a pass for Hugh Parker to tap in from six yards out. Parker then turned provider for Darko Gyabi to fire home the winner and complete the turnaround.
“It was a good turnaround from the first half,” he explained. “The first half definitely wasn’t how we planned for it to go, but the boys showed a good reaction to get back into the game.”
Going from playing in front of 20,000 fans in the Championship to less than a hundred in the Under-21s could be a difficult transition for a first team player, but for Drameh, he says it’s about having the right mentality to go out and perform whatever the game.
“No (it isn’t hard), it’s all about mentality. A game of football is a game of football. I want to play as much as possible, and I see every game as an opportunity.
“So for me it’s not hard. The boys are a good group as well. All the boys that dropped down (Brandon Williams, Gyabi, Akin Famewo) (into the Under-21s), they’re a good group of people, so it’s definitely not hard.”
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.