BY ALAN TEMPLE – @CCP_Sport
Scotland star Robert Snodgrass has issued a rallying cry to his Hull City teammates ahead of their crunch playoff final against Sheffield Wednesday.
The Tigers claimed a 3-2 aggregate win over Derby County this week to tee up a Wembley clash against the Owls on May 28, with the riches of the Barclay’s Premier League awaiting the winners.
And, after battling back from a devastating dislocated knee to play a key part in the run-in, Snodgrass has no intention of falling at the final hurdle.
“We need one more push to try and get us back into the big league,” said the determined forward.
“We have shown that we can beat any team in this division on our day. Everybody in this city wants it – the players, the fans, the staff – but we have to go out there and do it.
“We’ll be hard at it preparing for the final because we realise that we’re in with a great, massive chance of achieving promotion.”
Despite boasting a 3-0 lead from the first leg in Derby, Hull almost threw away their Premier League dream on Wednesday night, grimly holding on for a 2-0 defeat at the KC Stadium.
While he knows a much-improved display will be required at Wembley, Snodgrass reckons the Tigers proved their mettle during that fraught defeat.
“The night wasn’t what we wanted,” he told the Hull City website. “But the main aim was to get to Wembley and we’ve done that by winning the tie over two legs.
“To be fair, Derby were different class and I thought we showed a different type of character in the second half, something I hadn’t seen from us this season. We stayed strong and did our jobs.
“When things weren’t going well for us, we dug in to get the aggregate result.”