The Tigers can make it successsive away wins with a rare victory in Norfolk
Hull City star Semi Ajayi says the Tigers must use their experience to deal with what’s likely to be waiting for them at Norwich City on Saturday.
The Tigers will arrive at Carrow Road in great spirits after an unbeaten run which was extended to five games last weekend, but the feeling is very different amongst the Canaries.
Boss Liam Manning is under intense pressure after five straight defeats and the club is sitting second bottom. At Carrow Road, Norwich have lost all five league outings so far, and there’s talk of protests from some supporters at the direction of travel.
That can have its benefits, and also be laden with risk for City, but Ajayi says keeping the crowd quiet, however that looks, will be crucial in helping the Tigers claim a first win in Norfolk since 2010.
“We’re just taking it one game at a time at the moment, so full focus is on Norwich at the moment, and we’re looking forward to that game,” he told Hull Live.
“It’s a good opportunity for us to bounce back. It won’t be an easy game; Norwich is never an easy place to go to, but I think the boys are really up for the challenge and looking forward to it. I think every away game in the Championship is very, very similar.
“There’s not many grounds you go to where the home crowd aren’t going to be up for it, so it’s definitely a lot of game management involved, a lot of quietening the crowd, playing at your tempo and not the tempo that the crowd wants you to play at. We’ve got enough experience in the changing room to know how to manage those situations.”
City will go into the next round of games only outside the top six on goal difference after 12 games of the 46. And while many people in football believe the league starts to settle down after 10 games, Ajayi feels things have changed and now it’s much further into the season.
“For sure (pleased with the start and position), we’re just taking every game as it comes. We can’t read too much in the table right now, it’s a bit false,” he continued. “We know what the Championship’s like and there’s a lot of games to be played, especially that Christmas period coming up. We can just focus on the next game, try and pick up three points and move from there. I have a lot of faith in this squad.
“Maybe after Christmas, I’d say, probably that’s when the gaps are a bit more defined and you know who’s in what race and whatnot, because right now, a team could be down by the relegation spots and put four or five wins together and be right up there.
“We’ll have to wait and see, but, we can only focus on ourselves. We’re not really looking at the table too much or getting too carried away. We’re just trying to pick up as many points as we can. We just need to keep grinding out results. It’s a long season, we can’t get too carried away with how well we’ve done so far. We’ve got to keep pushing, and I think the boys are definitely hungry to do that.”
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