Hull boss Nigel Adkins has admitted his side will “need a lot of magic” to defeat the Premier League Champions Chelsea due to their long list of injuried absentees for FA Cup fifth round tie on Friday.
The Tigers went through the competition stages with complex layers of issues to win against Blackburn and Nottingham Forest and their quest to add another victory to their domestic cup list is quite shaky with Chelsea.
Adkin’s side is dealing with a rather tall list of 12 players in the physio room, most recently is the retirement of Ryan Mason. The midfielder announced his early and untimely retirement after a fractured skull which occured last January at Stamford Bridge in a tussle with Gary Cahill.
Adkins has urged his side to play without fear and deliver best results although it might be tough, anything is likely to happen on Friday.
“So, it’s a challenging scenario that we’ve got. We’ve got to play players who probably won’t last the full 90 minutes, so how can we impact with the substitutions?
It’s a shame because we’ve been on a consistent run at the moment. Our performances have been good and you’re trying to get a run of form.
But, again, we’re going to have to change the team around again. We need a lot of magic to help us, let’s face it, because they’re an outstanding team.
We’re going there under no illusions but it’s the FA Cup and anything’s possible.”
Nigel Adkins, Evening Standard
