Championship play-off

AS a victim of one of the biggest turnarounds in play-off history, Hull City manager Phil Brown knows all about the vagaries that can make the end-of-season promotion deciders something of a lottery.

The 48-year-old will tomorrow embark on a sixth tilt at winning promotion via the knockout route when his Tigers side travel to Watford for their semi-final first leg.

A place at Wembley plus a tilt at reaching the Premier League awaits the winners and Brown plans to use his previous experience of the play-offs – both the good and the bad – to good effect.

Brown's CV includes a promotion to the Premier League as Sam Allardyce's assistant in 2001 when Bolton Wanderers' 3-0 victory over Preston in the Millennium Stadium made up for the bitter disappointment of 12 months earlier when the Lancashire club had been beaten in the semi-finals by Ipswich Town.

That defeat to the Tractor Boys had continued Brown's then 100 per cent losing record in the play-offs with Bolton being denied promotion from the old Third Division by Neil Warnock's Notts County in 1990 and then Tranmere Rovers a year later.

It is the Hull manager's third taste of defeat as a player, however, that will perhaps be the most relevant when it comes to how his side should approach a two-legged showdown with Watford.

Twelve years have passed since a Blackpool side featuring Brown saw a 2-0 first-leg lead against Bradford City blown away in the return at Bloomfield Road and the pain of missing out on a Wembley trip has not gone away.

As the Tigers prepare for perhaps their biggest game since losing an FA Cup semi-final replay to Arsenal in 1930, Brown said: "I played in the first game (at Valley Parade) when Blackpool won 2-0 but was on the bench at home and came on with about 15 minutes to go.

"It was not a nice feeling. Chris Kamara was the Bradford manager at the time and they went to Wembley, we didn't. It was horrible.

"I could open a can of worms here but I won't. Bradford simply changed tactics (in the return). They started with Ian Ormondroyd in the first leg and then didn't play him in the second.

"That meant instead of going route one, they played football (at Bloomfield Road). They also got the run of the ball and got the three goals. It was horrible.

"Those two semi-finals showed me that a game is never over until the final whistle goes. We go to Watford and I fully expect it to be a tough and tight game. It may be littered with goals, it may be 0-0.

"But we have to make sure we get something at Vicarage Road that we can hang on to when we get back to 'Fortress KC'.

"I think we will approach it differently (to a normal league game) because it is over two legs. I don't mean in a tactical way, but in terms of the mentality that it will only be half-time when the game at Vicarage Road ends.

"There will still be 90 minutes of football to play."

Hull have been boosted by the return to training of Henrik Pedersen and Richard Garcia after injury with the Australian perhaps having the best chance of earning a starting role due to Brown's likely switch back to
4-4-2.

Jay-Jay Okocha will not feature despite having, as Brown put it yesterday, "worked as hard as anyone I have ever seen with the physio to get fit". The Nigerian could, however, be available for the return leg at the KC on Wednesday.

In terms of form, Watford go into the play-offs with by far the worst record of the four competing clubs with just one win in 14 games. Ady Boothroyd's side have also scored just five times in 15 hours of football.

Despite that, Brown has been quick to stress that nothing must be read into the Hornets' poor run of results.

The Hull manager said: "Let's forget about their form. The slate has been wiped clean because they will be going into this game treating it as the start of the season. They will be fresh.

"I expect Ady Boothroyd's team to roll up their sleeves and throw the kitchen sink at us. Because when they come back to the KC, they will be getting the kitchen sink thrown at them.

"I also don't think our 3-0 win (against Watford at the KC six weeks ago) will be an advantage. What matters will be the mentality of the players. We need to relax the players and get them focused on the job in hand.

"Strength of character is also vital. When the going is tough, the characters in a team stand up to be counted. And I feel we have enough strength of character in our changing room."

richard.sutcliffe@ypn.co.uk

Last six games: Watford WLDLLD, Hull City WDWLWL.

Referee: K Friend (Leicestershire).

Last time: Watford 1 Hull City 1; October 20, 2007; Championship.