Liam Millar says he expected Hull City to be in Championship play-offs
Hull City are widely seen as the surprise packages of this season's Championship, but not in the eyes of Liam Millar.
The Tigers sacked manager Ruben Selles in the summer after avoiding relegation on goal difference on the final day of last season, and replaced him with Sergej Jakirovic, a manager with Champions League experienced who had steered Turkish side Kayserispor away from relegation danger in 2024-25, but who had no experience of English football.
On top of that, they were banned from buying players this season, or even loaning them when a fee was required.
After all of that, many were tipping them for relegation.
Some at Hull talked of a top-half target, but hardly anyone mentioned them as play-off contenders.
But with nine matches of the season left, they have a seven-point gap to seventh-placed Southampton, albeit the Saints have a game in hand.
Winger Millar, in his second season in East Yorkshire, says it is only what he expected.
"Everyone probably has Ipswich and Wrexham for the amount of money that they spend to be in and around the play-offs and whatnot but I think from my point of view, I always believed that this is where we would be," said the Canada international, who impressed on loan at Preston North End in 2023-24.
"I talked about it when I first came to the club last season, that the goals of mine and of the club really aligned. And this was obviously our goal, to be a play-off-pushing team, to aim to go to the Premier League.
"I've always believed since the first day that I've been here, that this is where we would be.
"The club has done great getting great players to help that. I'm more than confident in us. I believe in us a lot.
"I think we've just got to focus on what we believe in and not really try and focus too much on what everyone else is saying."
Hull's post-match celebration with the away fans after Tuesday's win at Wrexham showed how close the team are to their supporters after disillusionment at times in recent season. They will have an important role to play again at West Bromwich Albion on Saturday.
"It's great to hear them support us and cheer us on throughout the game," said Millar. "There's times where games are getting tough and we can still hear them. And they give us an extra boost on the pitch and we all obviously really appreciate that.
"We have a good connection with the fans and we try our best every game to make sure that we get maximum points for them. That's what they deserve."