Andy Dawson's Hull City reign boosted by support of new recruits ahead of trip to Blackpool

The caretaker coach was facing the media again, this time to preview Wednesday's Championship match at Blackpool.

"I do more speaking to you guys than the players," is his opening gambit.

"Welcome to life as a Football League manager," many of his colleagues would have been thinking had they not been far too busy to listen in.

"I think the boys are sick of hearing my voice – as I am!" he slips in later.

There is a serious point. The job of a manager is all-consuming, yet caretakers like Dawson usually have to do it – in his case for the first time – with fewer support staff because of the sackings or resignations they are covering for.

After four matches in temporary charge and with at least two more due, Ilicali has given Dawson help.

Former Crystal Palace analyst and Istanbul Basaksehir assistant manager Beri Pardo joined last week, ex-Hull, Middlesbrough, Sheffield Wednesday and Rotherham United full-back Robbie Stockdale took his first training session on Tuesday.

"The Luton game (his first in charge, at a few hours' notice) was one of them things and you end up adapting and just doing the best you can but a week goes on and you look at the games coming up and the extra responsibilities,” says Dawson.

"The players are the most important people here and we want to give them every chance so whether it's for a day, two days, a week, having another voice, another set of hands, somebody else watching, will be invaluable for them."

It will help Dawson too. Stockdale has assisted Sam Allardyce, David Moyes, Chris Coleman and Paul Heckingbottom, had three caretaker stints at Sunderland, one at Grimsby Town and managed Rochdale.

"Robbie's somebody I played with (for Hull), a really experienced guy and I thought it would be a good idea for him to see where the players are,” explains Dawson. “He's been in and around Championship and Premier League football.

"When you're in an environment for a long time sometimes it's good to get advice that has sort of come from afar. Robbie was at the game the other day so I got feedback.

"It brings a bit of light. That's really valuable to us as a coaching staff and more importantly the players.

"I was just chatting to him about when he worked with Sam Allardyce and what he does when he goes into different clubs was interesting to learn about."

Four press conferences some weeks feels like a treadmill but clever managers use them. Tuesday’s message was all about consistency.

"I hope you see passion and I wouldn't say anything to you guys I wouldn't say to the players," he says. "It is always a message to the players because they do listen. If they see passion from us as staff, they know what's expected from them.

"Sometimes that will come across on the pitch, sometimes it won't, but you're setting certain parameters.

"I have massive belief in that group. They're great group of players, a great group of human beings, but they need to be more consistent and when we step onto that pitch we have to be nasty, we have to be aggressive, we have to be dominant for 95 minutes in everything we do.

"The Championship is relentless and playing for 45 minutes is not good enough. I see periods of games where I think, 'That's excellent. Can we now finish the attack?'

"But we need to do it all the time.

"The second balls we won in the first half (on Sunday) were absolutely fantastic but it wasn't the same in the second half. That's why Birmingham came back into the game and where we lost our momentum.

"Are they capable of it? Definitely."

Blackpool played at Bramall Lane on Saturday but the 3-3 draw was so crazy as to make conclusions hard. The Tangerines have failed to get Shayne Lavery's red card from that game overturned, meaning they will have three players suspended for dismissals that day.

"In the Championship teams are inconsistent but we've watched their last three or four games and seen patterns of play," explains Dawson. "They make forward runs, they like playing out and they're a good team.

"Teams can throw different things at you from Saturday to Tuesday so as an individual and a collective, you have to be willing to deal with whatever comes at you.

"They had three players sent off (Marvin Ekpiteta and Dominic Thompson were the others) so will that change the dynamic of the team? Will the style change? We have to be prepared individually and collectively for that."

Hull hope Dogukan Sinik will have recovered from a calf injury.Callum Elder trained for the first time on Tuesday after a hamstring problem, and Lewie Coyle was with the doctor after illness.