Hull City v Ipswich Town: Tigers’ home form has got everybody smiling

The Tigers host Ipswich Town on Tuesday having taken 2.1 points per game in East Yorkshire this season.

That is a big leap on their 1.3 per game in Regan's first three-and-a-half years as a permanent player. Goals per game have jumped from 1.2 to 1.9.

It is fuelling an early-season play-off push which will be tested by the Tractor Boys.

"I think the biggest thing for me is just the lads day-to-day, enjoying coming in and enjoying working," said Slater when asked what was behind the turnaround. "That is probably the biggest difference and probably the most important one, really.

"It's just nice to see everyone smiling again. It helps that you're winning games, but even from the gaffer coming in, he mentioned straight away that the home form needs to change.

"Other than changing the way that we kick-off, we've not ultimately done much to change that. I feel like everyone's just in a better headspace."

Where the football has too often been stodgy at home, fans are enjoying and getting behind how Sergej Jakirovic's team are playing, and each is helping the other.

"They feed off what they're seeing, aren't they?" said Slater, who joined in January 2022. "Last season, when you're losing a lot of games (11 at home) and what have you, they're obviously not going to be happy.

"No one was happy.

"Whereas this year, we're winning games, we're playing lovely football at times. So they're obviously going to get behind us when it's going better.

"I don't get caught up too much in that kind of thing but when you're out there and you can hear groans and what have you, when you're not playing forward, I think some players probably would get affected by it. They play passes that just aren't on.

"But the support's been very good this season. I feel like the fans are just behind us.

"You get the sense when you walk out this season that they want you to win and they'll give their all to help you do that."

Only Blackburn Rovers have won on Hull's patch this season, on a day the Tigers were beset by illness.

"I feel like it's probably helping that once you get them first couple of wins at home people start seeing that, 'Oh, it looks like a tough place to go,'" said Sheffield United academy product Slater.

"Then you win a few more and it's building on it and people start saying - players and whatnot - 'Oh, it's a tough place to go there.'

"That definitely helps us. Credit to ourselves, we got that first couple of wins at home and now it's become a very hard place to come."

With former Hull players Jaden Philogene and Jacob Greaves in their ranks, Slater knows not to underestimate an Ipswich side who were slow out of the blocks after being relegated from the Premier League last season.

"I feel like they've found some form of late as well and they're probably showing the quality that they definitely do have," he said.

"There's two names I played alongside - very good players - and they've got a squad full of it. It'll be a real tough game."