Hull City v Sheffield United: George Moncur quickly settled back in Yorkshire

Back for his second spell in the Broad Acres, the Hull City midfielder and his family have quickly settled and if the notion of a happy player off the pitch means a happy one on it counts for anything, then his time with the Tigers should be rewarding.

Moncur – son of former Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham schemer John – came through the Hammers academy after an earlier spell as a schoolboy at Spurs, where one of his team-mates and good friends was a certain Harry Kane.

The pair have kept in touch and used to be golfing buddies, but whereas Kane’s career has gone onto lofty heights with club and country, Moncur has remained on the EFL circuit with the likes of Barnsley, Colchester United and Luton Town.

Still, he remains grateful for his lot and at 28, there is every chance that his peak years will be played out in Yorkshire.

Moncur told The Yorkshire Post: “To be fair, I really enjoy it. I don’t know what it is about Yorkshire as being from Essex, you wouldn’t think I fit in.

“I love it and it is nice and quiet where I live. To be fair, In Essex, there are a lot of flash people. But I have come out and got away from that, it’s no good!

“I got a house up here pretty quick and everything about it so far has been fantastic.

“I don’t go home that much. I have got two kids and my missus doesn’t drive and is 27 years old and needs to have a look at herself, to be honest..

“But my family come up a lot as I don’t have much chance to go and see them. I have not seen Harry in ages, but still message him every now and again.”

The fact that the ex-Barnsley player, who made 37 of his 52 league appearances for previous club Luton from the bench, is also under the wing of a manager who rates him and has previously looked out for him provided further vindication to make the decision to head back up north in the summer.

Moncur, who made an impressive cameo from the bench in City’s midweek loss at Blackburn, first worked with Tigers head coach Grant McCann during a loan spell at Peterborough in the autumn of 2016 when he was struggling for game time at Oakwell.

It was a spell which he remembers fondly.

Just as Moncur is the first to vouch for McCann’s qualities as a person, he is also confident in his belief that Hull are in good hands as they make the transition back to Championship life.

The club’s recent barren run has not been what the doctor ordered, with an early dismissal in the game with QPR also stymieing Moncur’s hopes of making a quick impact.

But there is belief that with key players returning, Hull’s fortunes will turn. Today would be the perfect time to start.

Moncur commented: “There is nothing better than a manager who knows you.

“Once you get a manager who trusts you and knows your attributes, then he can get the best out of you and that is when you play your best football and I have known him for years.

“He wanted to bring me in and he is very good and handles situations really well and certain players need certain things. We might have quiet people who need an arm around them or someone might be chirpy and need a kick up the backside.

“But with the characters we have got in the squad, he handles everyone well and they love playing for him.

“We just need to pick up some results now and hopefully can start that on Saturday. When you get a few wins, you will get a lot more as confidence builds.”

The natural exuberance and chirpiness of Moncur may suggest, in the nicest possible sense, that he is one of those players who might occasionally need a ‘kick up the backside’ as he puts it.

That said, McCann elected not to castigate him following his dismissal following his challenge on QPR’s Dominic Ball in the game on August 14. In Moncur’s first home league start for the club, it was a wise move and good man-management.

“It was the first one (red card) I have ever had in my career,” Moncur observed.

“It was a split-second decision and I thought I could win the ball and was a bit late and the lad made more of it as they do. But because I left the ground, it doesn’t matter how much you touch them or not, it’s a red card.

“I hold my hands up, but I will learn from that and I will take it on board and it won’t happen again.”