MX23RW : Wednesday, December 18 04:33:55| >> :600:199113:199113:
[monks data]
Attendance: 13,814
QPR logo
Championship | Gameweek 25
Dec 29, 2019 at 3pm UK
 
Hull logo

1-2

Chair (20')
FT(HT: 1-1)
Honeyman (32'), Irvine (89')

Hull City boss Grant McCann rules out selling players in January

Hull City boss Grant McCann rules out selling players in January
© Reuters
Hull are three points outside the Championship play-offs and the likes of Jarrod Bowen have attracted interest.

Hull manager Grant McCann has insisted there is no prospect of him losing his best players during next month's transfer window.

Jackson Irvine's late goal gave the Tigers a 2-1 victory at QPR – their seventh win in their past 13 matches.

It left them 12th in the Sky Bet Championship table, three points from the play-off places.

And McCann says Hull will be looking to buy rather than sell, despite speculation over the futures of the likes of Jarrod Bowen.

McCann declared: "If the bids comes in I know they won't be going, it's as simple as that. We've been told that.

"We're not interested in selling in this window. We're only interested in trying to strengthen this group to have a serious push for promotion.

"We need to bring one or two in just to give the group a bit of help. We're churning the same players out every single week.

"We just need that bit of help, really to give the group a bit of a lift and for them to say 'I need to up my game here because there's serious competition'."

Hull came from behind at the Kiyan Prince Foundation Stadium, where Ilias Chair fired Rangers ahead in the 20th minute.

The visitors were gifted an equaliser when keeper Joe Lumley spilled Josh Bowler's ball in from the right and George Honeyman was on hand to score his first for the club.

And Irvine wandered in unchallenged to nudge home Bowen's free-kick – much to McCann's delight.

"We've got severe injuries so the boys have really been outstanding to win seven games from the last 13," McCann said.

"It's an incredible effort with what we have. The boys have been phenomenal. I can't speak highly enough of them.

"We want to try to keep on that level now where we're on an upward scale."

QPR manager Mark Warburton defended Lumley, who has made a number of errors this season.

Asked if he is now minded to recall fit-again keeper Liam Kelly, Warburton said: "I'm minded to treat every player the same. The trouble with a goalkeeper is that everything they do is highlighted.

"If a striker misses a chance or a centre-half misses a header it's easier to say 'no problem'.

"Joe has pulled off a couple of wonderful saves recently and has been very, very good.

"He had a tough time earlier. I made a change (by selecting Kelly) earlier in the season and that's the right thing to do – to look after players and when I think the time is right, to change.

"You've got to be able to look any player in the eye and say 'This is why I'm doing it. I'm doing it for these reasons'. They're men and this is professional sport.

"It's about what the right decision is for the team and for the player as well. So I look at every player after every game and think about what's the right thing to do."

But Warburton admitted there were "no excuses" for the manner in which his team conceded goals.

He said: "You lose the game to two ridiculously soft goals, which we can't give away.

"We gave away a really soft goal and had to respond, which we did. But we didn't put the ball in the back of the net. Then the second goal is unacceptable, simple as that."

ID:384437: cacheID:384437:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:4710:
Written by
P A
No Data Analysis info
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Mark Bowen pictured in December 2017
Read Next:
Bowen credits Christmas Day off for Reading victory
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Sheffield UnitedSheff Utd21145230111945
2Leeds UnitedLeeds21126337152242
3Burnley2111822681841
4Sunderland21117332171540
5Blackburn RoversBlackburn2011452517837
6Middlesbrough21104735251034
7Watford2010462926334
8West Bromwich AlbionWest Brom2171132416832
9Sheffield WednesdaySheff Weds218582630-429
10Swansea CitySwansea217682322127
11Bristol City216962626027
12Norwich CityNorwich216873632426
13Millwall206772018225
14Derby CountyDerby216692626024
15Coventry CityCoventry216692730-324
16Preston North EndPreston2141162127-623
17Stoke CityStoke215792328-522
18Queens Park RangersQPR2141072127-622
19Luton TownLuton2164112337-1422
20Oxford UnitedOxford Utd2046102133-1218
21Cardiff CityCardiff2046101932-1318
22Portsmouth193882134-1317
23Plymouth ArgylePlymouth2045111942-2317
24Hull City2137111930-1116


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!