Nigel Adkins: Hull are still in the play-off mix

Posted Thursday, April 11, 2019 by PA

Hull boss Nigel Adkins is refusing to rule out his side from gatecrashing the Sky Bet Championship play-offs after the 2-1 win over Wigan.

Jordy De Wijs headed an 89th-minute winner at the KCOM Stadium to keep the Tigers five points off the top six with five matches remaining.

“It was great to get an 89th-minute winner. It keeps it exciting,” Adkins said.

“That is what we’ve got to do. Find a way to win. Five points off the play-offs.

“We have got momentum. There are five games to go and we are still in the mix. Anything can happen. Everyone has got to play each other.

“We’ve got to get over that 70-point mark and who knows what happens from there. We are looking forward to it.

“Isn’t it great how we can still talk about us still in the mix? It’s all to play for. Teams will drop points. We’ve got good games to play.”

De Wijs rose highest to nod in Kamil Grosicki’s corner at the death to secure Hull’s third consecutive win.

And Adkins was delighted to see work on the training ground pay off.

“Great credit to (coach) Andy Crosby, we do a lot of work on the training ground on set-pieces because we want to increase goals from set-pieces,” he said.

“It’s about time Jordy scored because he is a massive threat.”

Wigan were well in the game at half-time after Nick Powell fired them ahead in the 41st minute.

But an error from goalkeeper Christian Walton led to Fraizer Campbell’s equaliser six minutes after the break before De Wijs headed home.

The defeat leaves Latics deep in relegation trouble, just two points above the bottom three.

And Wigan boss Paul Cook admits his side need to start cutting out basic errors.

“Is it disappointment? Is it deja vu? Whatever you want to call it, it’s just us,” he said.

“It’s just the way it is. It is irrespective of formations, tactics, everything else. It continues to be individual errors that cost us.

“We have the ability to give teams goals and nothing changes. It’s a pattern. If you keep picking the same players, with the greatest respect, the same thing will happen.

“We’ve got a massive challenge on with five games to go. We’ve got to cut out individual errors, but it’s a little bit boring now.

“We might stay up by the skin of our teeth and then we’ve got a big summer. I can’t do anything about some of the goals we are conceding. We get punished.”