The Tigers will be out for revenge after being given a thumping earlier in the campaign
Yu Hirakawa wil be forced to sit out this weekend’s game (Image: George Wood/Getty Images)
Dean Holden says Yu Hirakawa has been a hugely positive influence on the Hull City dressing room since arriving at the MKM Stadium from Bristol City last month.
The Japan international will be forced to sit out Saturday’s game between the two sides under the terms of his loan from the Robins, though he has helped with the planning for the contest.
City go into the game on the back of four straight wins and a draw in their past five, and sit third in the league just four points adrift of leaders Coventry City.
“First of all, we absolutely love him,” Holden told Hull Live. “I think there’s a lot of surprise that Bristol City let him go in fairness. Our fans have taken to him straight away, the players as well, and the staff. He’s a wonderful character; what he is on the pitch is slightly different to what he’s like off it. He’s very quiet off the pitch, speaks really good English, we’ve tapped his brain a little bit, but I think we know we’ve done enough work as a staff.
“The games are coming thick and fast, you’ve got to get ahead of yourself a little bit in terms of your preps, you maybe spend the Tuesday afternoon leading up to the last game, maybe have a look at the next game and just try to use your time as wisely as you can.
“If we need anything last minute, I’m sure he’ll be, he’ll be there. I don’t know which dressing room he’ll be in and out of over the weekend. Maybe he’ll stand in the corridor at reception or something so he can be there for both, I don’t know, but he’s been a brilliant signing for us in this short period of time.”
LISTEN: Dean Holden and Ivor Pandur preview the weekend visit of Bristol City
The Robins thumped City 4-2 at Ashton Gate in the early weeks of the season, despite Joe Gelhardt’s early goal, and that display will serve as a significant warning to Sergej Jakirovic and his players, says Holden, who expects a response from Gerhard Struber’s men after their 5-0 home drubbing last Friday night.
“I don’t think anybody saw that result coming,” Holden continued. “We watched the game at the hotel, getting ready for our game. I think Derby are in a good run of form.
“Bristol City have had a lot of changes. I think they’ve lost nine players or 10 players in the window, brought some in. I read Gerhard’s comments in the press, I think that there was a lot going on, a lot of noise, as there is at most clubs in fairness around that last week or so of the transfer window.
“They’ve got a lot of strengths. We can’t forget the game down there very early in the season. They gave us a hiding. We took four goals, we could have conceded more, and we’re well aware of that. We went on a good run after that on the back of the Blackburn game at home and then that one away.
“We went into the break, and we reset. And we learned a lot from that game, so of course, we know their strengths. Physically, they’re a really good team as well, so we have to be right at it.”
The weekend will also present Holden with another chance to catch up with some familiar faces from his time at Ashton Gate, which began as assistant manager to Lee Johnson in 2016 and then manager in 2020, before leaving the following year.
“I had a wonderful five-and-a-half years initially, going in as assistant and hugely grateful to Lee (Johnson) and Mark (Ashton, chief executive) at the club to bring me in, in the first place, taking me out of Oldham Athletic,” he explained.
“I was a young coach, I think 37 at the time. Seems a long, long time ago. We had a wonderful time there as a family, great city. Wonderful people at the club, who I still speak to now.
“We had a good time of it, there’s probably not much made of it, but I think the people within the club who are still there who think maybe we would have gone close, had I stayed in the job, but listen, there were factors going on at the time out of my control.
“I don’t think we were ever out of the top six, and I think when I left, we were seventh in the Championship with around 17 or 18 players injured, so I think we were doing OK. There were a couple of defeats in there.
“There were factors out of my control which ultimately led to me leaving the football club, which I’ll never disclose publicly, but the key thing is I’ve got a lot of respect for the Lansdowne family and the guys at the club, Brian Tinnion, etc. Wonderful people. And of course, we wish the club well. We had a great time. Some fantastic young players that came through and, yeah, it’d be good to see some faces on Saturday.”
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