Head coach Nigel Adkins and youngster Jarrod Bowen know tonight’s clash against Chelsea in the FA Cup will be incredibly difficult for Hull City but being massive underdogs we might as well go out and enjoy it and just approach the game with an ‘anything is possible’ attitude given the shocks that can happen in the historic cup competition.
Speaking to the Official Site as he met with the media ahead of the game, Adkins would dearly love to pick up Hull’s first ever victory at Stamford Bridge but he was under no illusions as to how hard the tie would be for us.
‘For us, it`s all to gain, nothing to lose. We have a togetherness about everybody and through adversity, you draw strength. It`s going to be tough but strange things happen and you never know. You have to believe something is going to happen.’
Adkins went on to say.
‘If we get a defeat, then Chelsea should have won the game. It`s going to be tough, but we have to enjoy that challenge, embrace it and probably play with a bit of no fear as well. Can we take that one opportunity? We have to be inspired in defence, the goalkeeper has got to have a great game, but we have to be good in possession and if we get an opportunity can we be clinical with it? You just have to believe. They`re an outstanding team but it`s the FA Cup and anything`s possible. If we can`t win it, draw it, but go there with belief. We have to try and give ourselves an opportunity to win the game.’
Adkins went on to explain that he simply wanted the players to enjoy and relish the challenge that they faced and allow it to bring out the best in them and importantly enjoy it.
‘I want the players to enjoy the challenge as well. If you can`t enjoy this then you have a problem. We can be so serious about things that you miss the big picture of enjoying what you do as well. I say to the players, ‘Enjoy every training session, enjoy being involved, do the best you can and learn the lessons from it`. We can all get so tense in every walk of life but you have to enjoy it as well.’
Adding.
‘We have a lot of challenges, I understand that. But you still strive to find a way to outfox them. Or, sometimes, you have to say, ‘For all the will in the world, that one-on-one battle is something they will win`. The key then is what you do to try and affect it.’
As for Bowen, the 21 year old was hoping to create a special FA Cup memory as he comes up against Antonio Conte’s reigning Premier League champions having enjoyed his first tastes of the competition this season.
‘The biggest memory I have of the FA Cup isn`t through playing. Instead, I was watching Manchester United play Portsmouth and my little sister was born on that day. I was watching the FA Cup game and then dad came running in, turning the telly off. I looked him like, ‘Are you all right?` The next thing I know he is chucking me in the back of the car saying, ‘Your sister is being born, we have got to go`. That is the memory that stands out mainly.’
With 22 games at Stamford Bridge without a win, Bowen knew that would be the perfect memory to create.
‘It’s the FA Cup and we all know anything can happen in this competition. Yes, Chelsea will be favourites. They’re the home team and are expected to win. That means the pressure is off us a little bit. Hopefully, we can go there, play our own game and cause a bit of an upset. I’m looking forward to the game and itching to be involved. I want to test myself against the best players in the world because that’s how you improve as a player – and that’s what I want to achieve.’
He added.
‘If selected tonight, I’ll relish the opportunity and look to do as well as I can for the team and help us to achieve the result we all want. The FA Cup is still a competition that is valued by players and everyone wants to do well in it. A good cup run can give everyone a lift – the Club, the players and the fans – and we want to keep our run going.’
