Hull manager Grant McCann has answered critics says Lewie Coyle

Hull won 2-1 at Lincoln City on Saturday to secure their return to the Championship after relegation last summer.

The Tigers suffered a landslide second half of the campaign, picking up six points out of the last 60 available to go from play-off contenders to bottom of the table. The decision by the club’s unpopular owners to sell Jarrod Bowen and Kamil Grosicki on January’s deadline day was undoubtedly a big factor but even so, McCann can count himself lucky not to have been sacked.

He has certainly justified the faith now, though.

“He’s answered anybody who’s doubted him perfectly,” said Hull-born Coyle, who joined from Fleetwood Town in the summer.

“I think it gets overlooked how hard it is to make that jump straight back up after being relegated. Many teams have tried and failed.

“Once you don’t get it in that first year you see from teams in League One how hard it is. It’s expected at a club such as Hull City but all the questions have been answered.”

Before the season started, McCann set the target of the title – victories in their final two matches will secure it – and Coyle said there were never any doubts amongst the players they would win promotion.

“Definitely not,” he said. “People are going to say, ‘He would say that,’ but getting the job done with two games to go just shows the belief and the characters. There’s been times this season where we’ve been behind in games and we had a rough patch earlier on in the season and we came through that and at a vital part of the season we’ve gone on a 13-game unbeaten run. That speaks volumes.”

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