Hull City v West Brom: Grant McCann welcomes return of owners

HULL CITY manager Grant McCann is delighted the club’s much-maligned owners will attend a first home game in more than four years today as they try to “reconnect” with fans.

Chairman Assem Allam and his son and vice-chairman Ehab Allam will watch at the KCOM Stadium as Tigers tackle Championship leaders West Brom.

They have not been present since May 2015 when the club drew with Manchester United to suffer relegation from the Premier League, the owners having since alienated big sections of the Hull support with various divisive issues.

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Disillusioned fans voted with their feet as crowds dwindled and the club has essentially been up for sale for some time.

Hull City manager Grant McCann.Hull City manager Grant McCann.
Hull City manager Grant McCann.

But McCann said: “I think it’s great that they’re coming back.

“We’re trying to reconnect again with the fans with all the initiatives that have gone on and continue to go on.

“It’s been a long time since the owners have been to a game but I know they keep a close eye on every single game.

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“They’ve been to a few away games as well but it’s good to have them back. I’ve said it before we’re only going to be successful when everyone’s together.

“That means the fans, the club, everybody together. Then we’ve got a real good chance.

“It’s small steps. We’re trying to take it day by day, week by week, and keep trying to build that trust back again with us and the fans to get everyone back to supporting us.”

Hull halved ticket prices for their last home game against Derby County after average gates dropped to 10,665, their lowest since moving to the stadium.

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More than 16,000 attended to see them beat Derby 2-0 and the deal has been extended for today’s game as in-form City look to make it four wins in a row.

McCann said: “We’re happy where we are. No one has given us a chance since day one.

“Probably over these last three games people have thought maybe we are a decent team.

“We’ll continue to be under the radar, prove people wrong and see where we go.

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“West Brom are top of the league but we’ll look forward to it. The games we’ve won we’ve tweaked things and again we might try something different to try and win the game.

“We’re at home and we need to make sure we’re on the front foot. We want to set the tempo.”