Aston Villa v Hull City: Glad to be back in Championship says Michael Hector

Whisper it gently, but Michael Hector did during 2016-17 at Eintracht Frankfurt, despite enjoying his time in Germany.

The Hull City loanee, set to be handed a debut at Villa Park, has also played in Scotland and Ireland during his nomadic career but it is the Championship where he feels most at home.

The ex-Reading centre-half said: “Sometimes in the Championship, it is not about your performances as a team, but digging in and nicking a 1-0 away win somewhere.

“Sometimes, you are not going to play pretty football and must dig in away on a horrible Tuesday night. You can hit the bar and post and then something in the box comes off someone’s behind and goes in. That is the Championship.

“I have missed it a bit. In Germany, you play once a week and wait and train and stuff. In the Championship, you play on a Saturday and if you have a bad or positive game, you have a game on a Tuesday to either correct it or build on that momentum. That’s something I have missed a lot.”

Incredibly, Hull is Hector’s 15th loan destination, with the have-boots-will-travel Chelsea defender having spent temporary stints at a number of non-league locations earlier in his career.

The one constant has been the support of his family and that will continue, even if he is now a fair distance from his London roots.

He added: “It may be a long trip to Hull from London, but it is only on the train. It is good for them.

“My dad and mum have always travelled. They travelled to Germany and Aberdeen and into Ireland. Even my best friends always come to my loan games as well – even from non-league and all the way up. It has been a good journey.”