Two of Hull City's most influential players spoke after their crucial victory against Southampton to express their belief in the side and how the Tigers' spirit is shining through.
"I worked hard to be back for this game"
Top goalscorer Robert Snodgrass is arguably the most qualified to talk about Hull's commitment after being forced back into action sooner than expected, putting his body on the line to eventually change the game in his team's favour.
The Scotland international came off the bench in the first-half after both Abel Hernandez and Will Keane picked up injuries, despite only expecting to play a short part in the match. Snodgrass admitted “when I was named on the bench, I thought maybe getting on for the last 30 minutes would be good and I would probably by lying if I said I was one-hundred per cent fit."
Yet when the attacking midfielder was called into action he did not think twice about what he was required to do. He explained "I worked hard to be back for this game against Southampton because I have a job to do for this football club."
Even a mouth-watering international fixture against England at the end of the week did not cross his mind. "It had nothing to do with what is coming up at the end of this week, it was about helping my team-mates with the objective of getting three points."
"The fighting spirit was there"
Snodgrass netted the equaliser before assisting the winner for club captain Michael Dawson. The central defender claimed half-time discussions helped Hull turn the game around after finding themselves "under an awful lot of pressure." Yet Dawson suggested the side "regrouped at half-time" and "showed the type of character that does exist in our dressing room." He added "the fighting spirit was there, along with a couple of moments of quality to win the game."
Dawson suggested “the one thing that we won’t lack is character and fighting spirit and it’s something I’ve never doubted with this group." He believes manager Mike Phelan spearheads that approach. "We were on a bad run before Sunday, but the manager has never changed and he has kept the belief there."