The January signing remains one of the Tigers’ most influential performers
Hull City striker Kyle Joseph remains confident he’ll continue to get the rewards his performances deserve as he looks to build on his goal against Portsmouth.
Joseph had gone seven games without hitting the back of the net before his deft header from Joe Gelhardt’s corner put City 2-1 up on Saturday in a game they eventually went on to win 3-2 and move fifth in the Championship.
The former Blackpool man’s performance was typified inside eight minutes of added time when he raced around the middle of the pitch before closing down the Pompey goalkeeper and stopping a long ball into the Tigers’ box, which drew huge roars from the near-capacity MKM Stadium crowd.
Despite his incredible work rate, which regularly sees him hit the 12k mark in his running stats, the 24-year-old striker had come in for some criticism for his lack of goals, having been deployed up front in recent weeks following the injury to star striker Oli McBurnie.
“One hundred per cent,” he said when it was put to him that he doesn’t just want to be known as a striker that runs around a lot and works hard, stuff that should be a given for any player.
“I’ve played a lot off the left, I played central since Oli’s (McBurnie) been injured, and wherever I play I’ll always give my best and I’ll always try and do my best. It can be difficult sometimes, where you’re doing the distance that you’re doing and not getting the chances, not getting the goals, not really getting a sniff, but I think you get your rewards off it at times.”
While Joseph may not have the numbers in the goals column his work deserves, he has created moments for others, including Joel Ndala’s first Championship goal at Derby County earlier this month, and the versatile ace remains defiant that it’s side before self.
“You look at the goal (at Derby) where I’ve dropped in, Reegs (Regan Slater) gets it in behind where I should be, and you see that, and it’s stuff like that where I take that for the team to score goals over personal glory,” he explained.
“Obviously, I wanna score goals, I wanna get assists, but the team comes first. The team’s the most important thing, and if it contributes to getting three points on a Saturday, then I’ll do it.
“It’s important because I see the staff, they recognise it, the players, they recognise it. As soon as we scored the other day (Joel Ndala at Derby), Reegs (Slater) came to me and told me that it worked, me dropping in, him getting in behind, and that was the plan.
“When you see your teammates recognising it, I think that’s the most important thing: your teammates recognise it, and your staff recognise it.
“Sometimes, again, it can go past people’s eyes, but I think the people that you work with, when they recognise it, you realise that you’re doing an important job and that you’re trying to help the team, which is the most important thing.”
Whether it be playing off the left or through the middle, Joseph has played in all but one game this season, with his absence against Sheffield United only down to illness, which shows how important Sergej Jakirovic has viewed him so far this season.
Along with the impact of his coaching staff, Joseph says he values the impact of Jakirovic since the Croatian arrived in the summer, in helping him and others improve.
“The gaffer’s been great with me since he’s come in,” Joseph explained. “He’s really helped develop me, I think I’ve come on a hell of a lot since he’s come in, and his coaching staff have really helped me.
“It’s just the little bits, even in training, Marco (Salatovic, assistant) pulled me to the side and just told me about where to be in terms of the box and stuff like that. I really value stuff like that with how they watch the game. They recognise stuff, and they want to help the players. A lot of the players will say the same thing, that they get pulled for little chats to try and better them, and I think that’s the most important thing.
“You’ve got staff that wanna better the players that wanna help and develop players, and I think for us as players, that’s all, that’s all we can ask for.”
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