Hull City determined not to be 'catalyst' for Sunderland revival

Hull City are out to avoid being the "catalyst" for a Sunderland revival when the two sides meet this weekend, says Curtis Davies.
Hull City defender Curtis Davies makes a tackle.Hull City defender Curtis Davies makes a tackle.
Hull City defender Curtis Davies makes a tackle.

Sunderland beat Bournemouth 2-1 before the international break to end a record breaking run of 10 Premier League games without a win - the worst ever start to a league campaign.

Victory on the south coast has given fresh hope of survival and a win over Hull at the Stadium of Light would be Sunderland's first back-to-back wins since May.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

But Davies says Hull have other ideas, with Mike Phelan’s side looking to build on their 2-1 win over Southampton before the break.

Sunderland are bottom heading into the game, five points adrift of third-bottom Hull.

"Sunderland had a great win against Bournemouth before the break and we know that they’ll have rolled their sleeves up and be up for a fight," said Davies.

"They’ll probably see the game on Saturday as a chance to get kick-started, but we don’t want to be their catalyst for that.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

"We want to be the ones who kick on and push ourselves on in the table, and if that also means putting more distance between ourselves and Sunderland that can only be a good thing as the season progresses.

"We’re ready for a big period in the season. We know we let ourselves down during the run of games after the last break up to the Southampton fixture.

"We had games that we knew we could be competitive in, but we weren’t. Fair play to the team for the way we came back after going behind against Southampton and we probably deserved the win on that day.

"We have to take the momentum and confidence from that win forward with us now," Curtis told the Hull City website.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

In the lead up to Saturday's 3pm kick-off at the Stadium of Light, Hull City have been dealt a major injury blow with striker Will Keane ruled out for the rest of the season with knee ligament damage.

Keane picked up the injury in the Tigers' 2-1 win over Southampton and the 23-year-old is expected to be sidelined for up to 12 months.

Hull boss Mike Phelan said: "To lose a player of Will's quality and potential for such a long period of time is a big blow, but I'm sure his determination and mind set will see him through the tough journey ahead."

Keane's injury is another major setback for the Tigers, with fellow striker Abel Hernandez also ruled out for at least three more weeks with a groin injury.