Hull City v Plymouth Argyle - Why George Honeyman earned captain’s armband at Tigers

The former Sunderland midfielder was one of few players to emerge with any credit from the post-lockdown capitulation which saw the Tigers relegated from the Championship in humiliating fashion last season.

This term, he has led by example, doing as much as anyone to help the East Yorkshire club win their opening three League One fixtures, contributing three assists and one goal of his own.

“George has been outstanding,” said City head coach Grant McCann, speaking ahead of this afternoon’s home showdown with Plymouth.

“He’s been outstanding since we came back from lockdown – the last nine games [of 2019/20] he was outstanding and he’s taken that into this season.

“He epitomises everything we’re about: hard work, energy, aggression to get after the ball and get it back. At the minute, he’s creating and scoring goals as well.

“I’ve been really, really pleased with George. Last week, I gave him the captain’s armband because of the way he’s performing.”

Ex-Leeds United attacker Mallik Wilks has been another key man for McCann this term, and City’s joint-top-scorer could return from injury ahead of schedule and in time to play a part in today’s clash with Argyle.

“Richie [Smallwood] and Mallik are pushing for the weekend, which is a lot sooner than expected,” the Tigers chief added.

“Whether they make it or not, we will see, but they are pushing very hard.”

With or without Wilks, McCann insists that visiting Plymouth will provide a stern test at the KCOM Stadium.

“They’re a good footballing team,” he said.

“They’ve got good players. They want to play. They want to get the ball down, play in between you, switch the play.

“We’ve got to guard against that. But we’ve also got to make sure we understand the areas we feel we can hurt them.”

Support The Yorkshire Post and become a subscriber today.

Your subscription will help us to continue to bring quality news to the people of Yorkshire. In return, you’ll see fewer ads on site, get free access to our app and receive exclusive members-only offers.

So, please - if you can - pay for our work. Just £5 per month is the starting point. If you think that which we are trying to achieve is worth more, you can pay us what you think we are worth. By doing so, you will be investing in something that is becoming increasingly rare. Independent journalism that cares less about right and left and more about right and wrong. Journalism you can trust.

Thank you

James Mitchinson