George Honeyman leads Hull City out of the trenches as they face Bristol City and hope to keep their unbeaten streak intact

Hull City aim to extend their five-game unbeaten run as they welcome Bristol City to the MKM Stadium this weekend.

Both Grant McCann and George Honeyman were nominated for Manager and Player of the Month awards for the month of November but missed out on the honours with Queens Park Rangers manager Mark Warburton and forward Chris Willock scooping the trophies.

Nonetheless, it has been somewhat of a remarkable turnaround for McCann, whose position came under intense pressure after a string of defeats and looking toothless upfront. However, as Hull have shown before when up against adversity, they have a squad with the appetite to dig in and get behind their manager.

The Tigers are currently looking up the table rather than down with the unbeaten run being no coincidence after the return of talisman George Honeyman. The Sunderland-born midfielder makes the Tigers tick with his energetic displays from midfield and his brilliant work on and off the ball.

Having struggled with injury for the last couple of months, it had been a huge blow for McCann to contend with as Honeyman struggled for fitness throughout the first quarter of the season. Now with minutes under his belt, the midfielder is back at the levels of form which terrorised League One defences last season.

His ability to break through the lines and grab important goals has been a massive bonus for a Hull side that had been struggling for goals.  With three in his last five games, the 27-year-old has certainly had the crowd on their feet at the MKM Sradium.

His tenacity in midfield and quality from dead-ball situations, combined with the ability to rally the troops and set the tone, has further bolstered the excellent work of skipper Richie Smallwood in the midfield. With Greg Docherty finding greater belief in his debut season in the Championship, McCann possesses a nice blend in the central areas with both Tom Huddlestone and Alfie Jones ready to compete for those places too.

With supporters losing faith due to the consecutive run of defeats previous to their away win at Barnsley, McCann’s management style was being put under intense scrutiny from a restless section of Hull supporters.

With an apparent resistance to change formation from his preferred 4-3-3 setup, adapting to a 3-5-2 formation has brought its rewards. With the intent to carry on playing an attacking game, the Hull City manager has gone with Keane Lewis-Potter and Ryan Longman in wing-back positions and has arguably made the Tigers a more dangerous animal in possession.

With a potential takeover rumoured to nearing completion, McCann and his players have shown what the football club means to them, fighting their way out of the relegation zone with further hopes to move up the table.

Despite the run of bad results before their upturn in fortunes, McCann always maintained Hull’s performance levels certainly deserved more luck, arguing that he would be judged on those levels by the ownership as unrest started to grow in the stands.

Speaking to the media, McCann was adamant that his side are still very much learning their trade and won’t be getting carried away.

“Nearly 70% of this team has not played in this league and it’s going to take time. Rome wasn’t built in a day. They’re going to take time to adjust to it and hopefully they’re now starting to adjust. We all are (as staff) and hopefully we can just get better.

“We just want to try and be consistent and be keep the momentum that we’re showing at the minute going and see if we can continue to get some some more results.”

Whilst Honeyman may well have been grabbing the headlines for Hull, there is no doubt that there has been a collective effort to drag the Tigers away from the danger zone for now.

Loanee goalkeeper Nathan Baxter has really steadied the ship at the back since jumping in between the sticks, and despite Matt Ingram’s ability in goal, his minor mistakes were being punished. Since Baxter has come into the side, he has instilled new confidence into the defenders in front of him with his calm and composed displays. The23-year-old appears very competent in all that he does and has made some fine saves to keep Hull in games.

Left-sided centre-half Jacob Greaves is rumoured to be catching the eye of Premier League clubs following his superb form at the back alongside Manchester United loanee Di’Shon Bernard. Hull have conceded just two goals in their last five outings and will hope to continue the unbeaten streak going.

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