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Home form likely to see Dowie dancing with delight at the KC
IF Hull City stay up, will you be singing on the pitch after the final game of the season?
It was a question that was always going to be asked and Iain Dowie was ready for it. "Believe me," said the media-savvy new Tigers manager on his unveiling this week, "you wouldn't want to hear my voice. I can dance a little bit, but I can't sing."
Dowie was then quick to praise Phil Brown, his predecessor in the home dugout at the KC Stadium who famously belted out the Beach Boys hit 'Sloop John B' minutes after his Hull side had been handed a reprieve on the final day of last season by results elsewhere.
Dowie's determination to focus on the positives of the man he had just replaced was not only a welcome change from the usual 'I'll make these players fitter' vow favoured by so many new managers, it also showed he has a sense of humour.
Whether the KC Stadium is ready for a jig of celebration from Dowie come May 9 is a moot point but if it means Hull's stay in the Premier League has been extended to a third campaign then it is surely a price worth paying.
The 100m question now is whether Dowie can inspire a sufficient upturn in form to save Yorkshire's sole representative in the top flight.
With a little under two months to go and Hull three points adrift of safety, it seems a tall order. Not only have Hull won just once since November but their goal difference is the worst in the division.
Dig a little deeper, however, and there are genuine grounds for optimism for those of a Tigers persuasion – namely the run-in and the faltering form of others.
With Portsmouth all but down even before this week's nine-point deduction came into force and Burnley seemingly doomed to an instant return to the Championship, it means the remaining clubs from Bolton Wanderers in 13th place down are battling to avoid finishing third bottom.
Of those, Sunderland and Owen Coyle's Wanderers side should have enough top-flight know-how and quality to steer clear of trouble.
West Ham United are another club likely to be breathing easier in a few weeks' time, especially with eminently winnable home games to come against Wolves and Wigan while Sunderland are also due at Upton Park next month.
That leaves Hull battling it out with Wigan and Wolves to stay out of the relegation zone, and when the trio of clubs' respective run-ins are analysed then it spells potentially good news for the Tigers.
The Latics have the benefit of hosting all of the current bottom three and that should just be enough to keep Roberto Martinez's team up.
If, however, Wigan were to lose one or more of those meetings with Burnley, Portsmouth and Hull at the DW Stadium then they will be in real trouble thanks to an away schedule that includes three visits to London and a daunting trip to Manchester City.
Wolves also have three trips to the capital before the curtain comes down on the campaign plus a game at Portsmouth that due to it being the club's last home game in the Premier League is sure to be played out in front of a highly-charged atmosphere.
Hull, meanwhile, have a run-in that, crucially, includes five games at the KC Stadium, which has proved a profitable hunting ground for the club this term.
And with the club's four away trips unlikely to yield much reward, it seems the meetings with Fulham, Burnley, Sunderland, Aston Villa and Liverpool will decide whether Dowie has to get out his dancing shoes come the end of the season.
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Sunday 12 February 2012
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