Hull City will be one of Town’s opponents in the Championship next season following their final day survival, and Blues defender Jacob Greaves was delighted for his boyhood club.

The Tigers’ 1-1 draw at Portsmouth last weekend ensured they overcame Luton Town on goal difference to retain their Championship status in their first season since Greaves’ departure for Suffolk last summer.

The Cottingham-born centre-back, who came through the East Yorkshire side’s academy, his father Mark having been a player there between 1996 and 2002, could not hide his delight at Hull’s survival but has not started to think about facing them in the second tier next season.

“Really pleased, it’s good for the city,” he said. “I was watching as much as I could before the Everton game and then when it was time to get into focus I turned it off and focused on what I had at hand.

“It’s a season for them that’s a little bit disappointing with the squad that they’ve got. It’s definitely one that’s good enough to be competing in that league, the play-offs are probably not as strong as they were last season.

“I’m absolutely delighted they stayed up, next season as well playing against them will be nice too rather than being Championship and League One.

“I've not really thought about it that much. With the remainder of the Premier League games, I’m focused on them. I’ll think about it when it actually comes to it but it’s just another game, I suppose.

“I’ve got nothing but love for that club. I love the place, you ask the boys here and I always big up Hull so much, they say it’s not a great place to live and I’m the one backing the city up.

“Hopefully I get a nice reception, if I don’t then fair enough but I’m excited to go back.”

Another former Tiger who will be returning to the MKM Stadium next season is Jaden Philogene, who impressed last season before being bought by Aston Villa. The winger, though, was less informed of the club’s final day success.

“It was actually strange because the gaffer came into the physio room the other day and started speaking about Hull and it was like Jaden had no idea about what had happened,” Greaves said. “It was like he was in his own world so he must have not been watching footy that week.

“To be fair, if you’re injured you might want to zone out from the game but everyone’s different. Hopefully it will be nice to go back where I’ve got so many special memories and really good friends.”

Reflecting further on Philogene’s knee injury and whether it may deny him a place at this summer’s European U21 Championships, Greaves said: “Disappointing. I don’t know if he wants to rule himself out of that one, I’ve spoken to him about it and he seems to think he might be okay but you’ll have to speak to the physio department.

“He’s a really positive and upbeat guy. From what I’ve seen from him he seems happy and I think he’s happy within his own self. Hopefully he keeps cracking on well with his rehab and enjoys his bit of time off to do whatever he needs to work on.”

Greaves, like many of his Blues teammates, is coming to the end of his debut season in the Premier League. While it is ultimately ending in relegation, the defender says it has been an enjoyable experience.

“It’s been a different season than I’ve been used to with the step-up to the Premier League, at times you’re tested,” he said. “In some games I feel like I’ve done well, some other games I feel I’ve got improvements to make.

“The step-up was always going to test that, but now I feel like I’m more accomplished and feel better for the step-up.

“Sometimes you’ve got to take a step back and look where you’re coming from. Your dream is to play in these leagues and to do it this year has been fantastic, but I’m hungry for more and you want to play in this league all the time.

“Definitely next season the ambition will be to get these boys back up into the Premier League and have another crack at it where you’re a bit more experienced and have a bit more knowhow in how to compete and perform in this league.”

Asked whether it has been as hard as he anticipated, Greaves said: “About what I thought. It’s been tough at times, we’ve had good games where we’ve competed well and then some games against different teams we’ve found it tough, which is to be expected.

“You’re going to have tough games, every team in this league has tough games. It’s definitely not been tougher than I expected, but we’ve not won that many games so you could also say we’ve not found it too easy.”

The 24-year-old added: “It's about all-round concentration, I don’t think you’ve got time to switch off in moments where you’re a little off where you’re supposed to be. If you’re out of position, wrong body position or anything like that, you get punished with the technical ability of these players is second to none.

“You’ve got to make sure you’re doing everything week in, week out to be dialled in to make sure you give yourself the best chance to perform at the weekend.”

Town will head into the Championship next season with a completely different level of expectation from their promotion campaign last term where they were newly promoted from League One.

As a result, Greaves suggested the Blues may have a target on their backs in which other sides will look to up their game when facing a side who have just come down from the top flight.

He said: “When I was at Hull last season and we were going away to the teams that had been relegated from the Premier League, we saw it as a proper test and probably gave that little bit more to show that you can compete against the Premier League sides and everyone showing that they can do a job against them.

“I think they’ll be a bit more grit from the managers to show that their team is going to be able to match a team that’s just come down from the Premier League. We know that we’ll just have to stick to a task and try and accomplish it.”

Photo: ITFC

MickMillsTash added 10:25 - May 12 I'm less excited about the prospect of going to Hull next year. Greaves was better on Saturday, MBuemo was quiet which is a good reflection on his performance - it's tough enough playing in the premier league without the intermittent defensive commitment of Encisco or Clarke ahead of you. Even so I've Not seen enough to be convinced, I would definitely try and keep Burgess so a Big pre-season and 12 months ahead for Greaves.

6

SamWhiteUK added 11:16 - May 12 I've paid no attention to the Championship this year, but what the hell are Hull doing fighting at the bottom?!
1

scooby added 11:21 - May 12 Luton Town aswell
1

bobble added 11:33 - May 12 Next game against leicester is a big 6 pointer might stop us going down if we win..
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smithlarr added 12:04 - May 12 @SamWhiteUK Hull sacked Rosenior at the end of last season, who probably overachieved to get that team near the playoffs, and who now has Strasbourg in the European places in Ligue 1. Couple that with losing some of their best players it's not a shock they ended down the table.
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churchmans added 13:05 - May 12 Meanwhile delap gone to man u
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Edmundo added 13:50 - May 12 Agree, the sacking of Rosenior was about as daft as it gets.
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marinermyhero added 14:27 - May 12 @bobble Give your head a bobble wobble we are down mathematically
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ernie added 16:42 - May 12 To be fair Philogene looks like he’s in his own little world every week…
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Gforce added 17:59 - May 12 @marinermyhero.....I think bobble is referring to the very remote chance of Man City being relegated.
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Northstandveteran added 18:42 - May 12 Even if City are deducted points, this will be done at the end of the season, allowing them to finish 1 point above the bottom three.
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blueoutlook added 18:44 - May 12 I’m not surprised JP didn’t know what was going on. He looks miles away most of the time. In fact lm not sure he even realises he has signed for Town. He looks so uninterested most of the time.
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bluebullet29l added 19:59 - May 12 Personally I'm not looking forward to playing hull but I guess greaves will be more at his level in the championship.
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