Barnsley, Huddersfield Town, Hull City and Middlesbrough in battle against the drop - and are Sheffield Wednesday truly safe?

As 2019 came to a close, Huddersfield Town and Middlesbrough might have been hoping February’s matches would be pretty meaningless. Hull City were looking up, not down.
Huddersfield's Danny and Nicky Cowley (right).Huddersfield's Danny and Nicky Cowley (right).
Huddersfield's Danny and Nicky Cowley (right).

Instead, Terriers manager Danny Cowley has described tonight’s game against Bristol City as the start of “the most important (sequence of) games of our lives,” while defender Ryan Shotton says his Boro team-mates need to “rewire completely” for the relegation battle ahead.

Hull coach Grant McCann is refusing to do that, insisting, “There’s no concern,” but a Championship table which has the Tigers in the bottom eight and two points from the last 24 available says otherwise.

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As the Championship rang in the new year, Hull and Sheffield Wednesday had ambitions of reaching this season’s play-offs but theirs have been the two worst records in the division since.

Middlesbrough's Ryan ShottonMiddlesbrough's Ryan Shotton
Middlesbrough's Ryan Shotton

The Owls might look cosy in mid-table obscurity, but the threat of a big Football League points deduction for financial misconduct could change that if their form does not pick up.

Middlesbrough recorded four straight win either side of Christmas, then held Tottenham Hotspur to an FA Cup draw, while Huddersfield finished 2019 with 10 points from a possible 15. Both looked like pulling clear of the relegation dogfights their poor starts to the campaign mired them in, but their 2020 points tallies are the third and fourth lowest, putting them directly above the trapdoor. Even after back-to-back wins, Barnsley and Leeds United are sixth and eighth in that undistinguished table.

Huddersfield have the chance to put some daylight between themselves and the relegation zone this evening, and Cowley is not downplaying it.

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“Our target since we arrived has been to get to 50 points and that remains our target,” he insisted. “We need 14 points from 12 games.

Hull manager Grant McCann.  Picture Tony JohnsonHull manager Grant McCann.  Picture Tony Johnson
Hull manager Grant McCann. Picture Tony Johnson

“On Saturday (in Huddersfield’s 3-1 defeat at Swansea City), we didn’t have enough people playing at the top of their game.

“We all have to look at ourselves for that, look at ways to get better, accept the criticism and stay strong. We have to be confident in our values and work hard moving forward.

“The 12 most important games of our lives are coming up – it doesn’t matter what you have done before. We have to fight for the club and our status in this division.”

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Pointedly, Cowley and defender Richard Stearman both called for fans to get behind the team this evening.

Barnsley manager Gerhard Struber.Barnsley manager Gerhard Struber.
Barnsley manager Gerhard Struber.

“It’s baffling how we can be so inconsistent,” said Stearman, the first of a slew of January signings who were meant to kick the Terriers away from trouble. “But we are confident we have enough in the dressing room to come through this dogfight.”

Wigan Athletic are in their fourth relegation battle in the last six seasons, Huddersfield their third in as many years and Barnsley were relegated from the Championship in 2018. For Middlesbrough it is new territory, and that concerns Shotton.

“Barnsley have been in this kind of situation a few times over the last few years,” he said. “They know how to get out of it.

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“Wigan are the same. They know what it is like to face that relegation pressure.

“But we haven’t. Boro have spent most of the last few years in the play-offs and pushing for promotion.

“This is the first time we have had to switch our mindset to ‘We are right in this’ and learn that battling comes first.

“We have to rewire ourselves completely for the next three months to deal with a different situation.”

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Shotton, who made his return from a knee injury in Saturday’s defeat at second-bottom Barnsley, plans to stand up and be counted in an inexperienced dressing room.

“The battling side of our team is not in question,” he maintained. “It is just the mentality. We have to get that right.

“It comes down to experience. I was in a relegation battle when I was on loan at Barnsley 10 years ago. We stayed up.

“I have been in it a few times in the Premier League with Stoke when we not exactly cruising at some points. There are a few lads in the dressing room who have been through it. We need to show a lead.”

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Winless in 10 matches, Boro are hosting Leeds at a bad time. The Whites travel to the Riverside having picked up some confidence with consecutive 1-0 wins.

Barnsley coach Gerhard Struber was at a very low ebb after his side’s 1-0 defeat at to Birmingham City seven days ago but in the unpredictable world of the Championship, that is a long time. Victories over Fulham and Boro have pulled them to within five points of Huddersfield, and got centre-back Michael Sollbauer talking up their chances of surviving.

Again, the fixture comes at a bad moment for Hull, who host them on Wednesday without Mallik Wilks, scorer of four of their last six goals, because he is on loan from Oakwell.

Speak to McCann, though, and he will tell you to move on – there is nothing to see here.

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“We’re looking above us, looking to see where we can finish,” he said. “A lot gets blown out of proportion but we know the season is 46 games and there’s another 12 to go.”

Regardless of McCann’s bravado, it is a big 48 hours ahead.