The Tigers are two places and three points above the Rams with three games left
Sammie Szmodics is confident of Derby County’s success(Image: James Marsh/Shutterstock)
Dean Holden admits he’ll be sending a message to Sammie Szmodics after the Derby County loanee predicted the Rams would topple both Hull City and Wrexham to clinch a play-off place.
Szmodics, who is on loan at Pride Park from Ipswich Town played under Holden at Bristol City for a spell earlier in his career before moving to Peterborough United, has assured fans that the Rams will snatch the final play-off place in the remaining three games.
As it stands, City occupy the final play-off berth ahead of all three clubs facing successive away games over the next few days, and have a three point cushion to John Eustace’s side, and two to Wrexham.
Holden joked that he’d certainly be getting in touch with the 30-year-old from Colchester, but says the focus remains on the job in hand having been written off by many all season.
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“We focus on ourselves, Sammy’s probably one of the most enjoyable players I’ve worked with,” Holden told Hull Live. “I wouldn’t expect him to say anything else. Bit of an Essex geezer, isn’t he, and he’s very, very confident, but love him to bits. He’s that type of lad, and I don’t take that too seriously.
“For us we’ve blocked out the noise all season, going right back to the pre-season when we got the embargo and there was people doubting us and people predicting us to be at the bottom of the table. We’ve never once used that really as fuel, maybe some of the players have individually. Every player, every coaching member is motivated differently.
“Certainly if you’re asking me, my focus is purely on getting our preparation right and getting the players in the right mindset for a big game and not thinking too much about anything other than that. I didn’t know about them until you just said, but I’ll certainly be sending him a message privately, yeah.”
City kick off their final three at relegation-threatened Leicester City on Tuesday night before going to Charlton Athletic on Saturday. Despite a poor run of form which has seen the Tigers claim just one win in six, Holden wants the players to make the most of a position every team below them would gladly take.
“We’ve got a fantastic week in front of us, we’d have snapped the hands off anybody at the start of the season to be in this position and that’s why we’ve got to embrace it and not fear it. What are we fearful about? We’ve got a really good group of players, we’ve got good players to choose from now for the first time in a long time in terms of squad depth. It’s an exciting time.”
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