Paddy McNair happy to be home in the Championship with Hull City after MLS adventure

The defender joined Hull City from San Diego last month, and made his debut at home to Bristol City on Saturday.

It was the second winter running the Tigers have brought a player back from MLS after signing his former Middlesbrough team-mate Matt Crooks from Real Salt Lake City 12 months ago.

McNair left Teesside in the summer of 2024, but was loaned straight back to West Bromwich Albion to keep fit for the start of the 2025 season.

When he was Stateside, the Northern Ireland international pined for the division he has played in since Sunderland were relegated to it in 2017. If it is nice for him, it is important for his club in a division where experience counts for a lot.

"I've said to a few of the lads the last few days that when I was out there, I just found myself missing the Championship," said McNair, who made his senior debut at Manchester United.

"I've played in it for so long. I'm very happy to be back.

"I definitely think MLS doesn't get the credit it deserves for the standard because there are so many good players. The majority of my team could easily play in the Championship.

"But for me, the biggest thing was the atmosphere and that sort of pressure and getting three points.

"I just felt like it wasn't England so I'm very happy to be back.

"I think it's the unpredictability of the Championship.

"As a player you want to win every game, but in the Championship more than any league in the world, I think the bottom beats the top. You go into every game knowing you can win.

"I just love the atmosphere of English football. When you definitely leave it, you take it for granted."

Even watching Championship football was difficult in San Diego.

"If it was a half-12 kick-off, it was half-four in the morning over there, so I wasn't getting up at that time to watch," he said. "The three o'clock kick-off was seven o'clock in the morning, so when I woke up I was just seeing the final scores.

"Even night games, it was 12 o'clock over there, eight o'clock kick-off. You're in training at that point, so you actually don't watch too much of it.

"When I went over there, I always thought everyone knows the Championship but a lot of the lads in the team didn't know much about it. There are lots of South Americans, so they were more Mexican league or Brazilian league. They all know the Premier League, but that was one thing that actually surprised me."

McNair has been working on his fitness since the MLS campaign ended in November.

"I knew I was going to come back, I just wasn't sure where I'd be," said McNair.

"I've been keeping myself fit. I didn't go back there for the start of pre-season, so I was just doing the most I could.

"I've been here (at Hull) for a couple of weeks now, so I've had a few training sessions. I could be in a better place fitness-wise but Saturday was a good stepping stone for me.

"I was doing a lot with my Northern Ireland fitness coach and a couple of other lads, but it's not the same as training with 20 lads every day and then having a game on a Saturday."

Having players who know the Championship is important for Hull, in the play-off places after 31 games. In McNair, Crooks, John Egan, Lewie Coyle, John Lundstram and Oli McBurnie, the Tigers are well stocked.

"Maybe when I was younger, when you lose a game you go into a bit of a panic mode, but there are so many games left," said McNair.

"We lost on Saturday, but there are still 15 games left, so there are plenty of times to correct it.

"I said to one of the lads at the end of the game, the Championship hasn't changed any since I've been away. It's always small margins in the game and going ahead 1-0, I feel like we were in control but it just can change so fast (they lost 3-2).

"I can't really think of a team who's got promoted with just kids. It's always good to have that experience in the dressing room.

"As a player, you want to be towards the top of the table. It's an exciting pressure because the end goal is unbelievable.

"To get promotion to the Premier League would be great for everyone. It's a pressure you just have to embrace.

"When you're towards the bottom - I've had that in the past - it's a different pressure.

"We're in a good position. There's a lot of games left and we can't get too ahead of ourselves. We just have to keep level-headed."