Hull City sights on Premier return as Terriers, Tykes and Owls battle to avoid drop

The Tigers were the big winners of the Easter weekend courtesy of a 1-0 triumph at Huddersfield Town that means the East Riding club, in second place, are four points clear of the chasing pack.

Hull were, in fact, the only team in the top six to triumph as leaders Cardiff City and Crystal Palace crashed to shock defeats along with Leicester City on Friday, and Nottingham Forest and Watford were held to home draws.

The upshot is that another victory tomorrow when the Hornets visit the KC Stadium and, regardless of what happens elsewhere, Bruce’s men will be seven points clear with six games remaining.

Bruce said: “There is all to play for, but we have given ourselves an outstanding chance. Certainly, a better chance now than we had going into the weekend.

“It has been a good weekend. The players all knew the chance we had, but there have been times this season when we have had an opportunity and not been able to take it.

“That is the Championship. Just look at the last few weeks, when the top teams have been beaten regularly by those at the bottom.

“Watford is a big game and I really hope we have a full house to try and help the team over the line.

“Can we win on Tuesday? If we do, we are seven points clear of Watford with six games to play. That would give us a real cushion.

“Having said that, no one will get carried away in that dressing room. This is the sort of league where you can quite easily lose three games in a week.

“We just get on with the job, like we have done for the last eight months. The one thing about this team is it has resilience. If we lose a game, we come back and have another go.”

As the Hull players celebrated a potentially vital win at the final whistle with their small band of supporters, the mood on the other three sides of the John Smith’s Stadium was in marked contrast.

Victories earlier in the day for Peterborough United, Sheffield Wednesday and Wolves meant Town had been dragged back into relegation trouble.

Sitting just two points above the drop zone and having a vastly inferior goal difference to all the teams around them, Huddersfield, who are not in action until tomorrow, must hope today’s results do not go against them.

However, with Wednesday and Bristol City set to meet at Ashton Gate and Barnsley hosting out-of-form Leicester City, there is a very real chance that the Terriers may head to Bolton Wanderers tomorrow night even deeper in the mire.

One manager hoping to pile further pressure on Town is David Flitcroft, who took a swipe at the fixture planners after his Barnsley side returned to the drop zone following their South Yorkshire derby defeat at Hillsborough.

The Reds return to action at Oakwell today against Leicester, who have had the benefit of an extra day’s rest.

Following Sheffield Wednesday’s 2-1 victory which enabled them to move above the visitors, who are now next to bottom, Flitcroft expressed confidence Barnsley would again rise to the challenge while questioning the fairness of the situation they are facing.

He will use recent wins against two other promotion chasers, Brighton and Watford, to act as motivation.

But he said: “When they arrange these fixtures it would be nice to have a Friday and a Monday so that you have both got the same recovery times.

“I don’t know who the football authorities listen to but, from a medical point of view, it would not happen.

“You have the risk of injury, fatigue, exhaustion playing so close together. Saturday and a Monday is criminal if I’m being honest, but we have to cope with it and the mental side of it will be massive now.

“I have picked this group up before. We got beat up by Man City (in the FA Cup) and also went bottom of the league, rock-bottom, we couldn’t get any lower, but we moved on from it.

“We picked the players up and ended up beating Brighton, who could have secured a play-off place, and then Watford, who could have secured second spot.

“There are eight more brilliant games to look forward to. The teams at the top are really having a panic. They are really under pressure, seem scared of getting out of the league and it is reflected on all the results we are seeing.

“The pressure on us is to stay in the league, but the pressure on those trying to get out of the league is weighing quite heavy on them. We have to take advantage of that and take it as a positivity. We have been beat at Hillsborough, but we are certainly not beaten.

“This group have played in massive games since I took over. The pressure has always been on us. High-octane games are something this group know how to negotiate.”

This was Barnsley’s 12th defeat in 14 visits to Hillsborough since 1983 despite the Owls missing a penalty and having Lewis Buxton sent off and Flitcroft confessed: “The players are disappointed and hurting as a group. They are hurting for the fans, but we leave here proud and in a positive state.

“We regroup and focus on Leicester. Now it’s about how we commit to those next games and how we commit to each other. If we do, we will be all right.”

The relegation battle has never been so intense and Flitcroft added: “It’s crazy. It’s the most exciting league. The relegation dogfight has been brilliant and something all neutrals are loving.

“When you are in the middle of it, it’s quite exciting. It’s an adventure and when you’re on one you either decide to get off or stay on it and I want to stay on it.”

Match reports: Pages 2 and 3.