Fulham v Hull City: Grant McCann refusing to panic after double setback

Winning the League One title last term as they secured an immediate return to the Championship, then beating Preston North End 4-1 away on the opening day of 2021-22 meant there was a long-overdue feel-good factor about the MKM Stadium when Tigers fans were finally able to return this week.

There was an opportunity to build further momentum as Queens Park Rangers and Derby County visited East Yorkshire, though City ended both games empty-handed.

Head coach Grant McCann has acknowledged that harnessing the positive energy which he and his players have worked so hard to create is important, but insists that, although untimely, Hull’s back-to-back defeats do not represent reason to panic.

“It’s definitely something we want to harness. The atmosphere in the two home games was brilliant, the fans have been excellent. We’re disappointed we never gave them anything to shout about,” he said ahead of this afternoon’s trip to high-flying Fulham.

“I think it’s important not to get carried away, we’re three games into the season. There’s going to be ups, there’s going to be downs.

“There will be times when we lose two in a row like we’ve just seen. We can’t get reactive. It’s a long season and we saw it last year when a lot of people wrote us off after some defeats. We’ve got a group who can bounce back.

“We know that football is fickle. You win one and you’re the best, you lose one and you’re the worst. It’s a case of not getting too flustered and the group sticking together, which they do. We’ve got a very good changing room and we’re just looking forward to the Fulham game.”