BE PREPARED
This will have been the longest week in the players' lives. You try your best to relax but you can't go more than half an hour without thinking about the game. It takes over your mind. In weeks like these I wouldn't want to go home after training. So long as you were around your team-mates you'd be having a bit of a laugh and a joke, but once you went home your mind would drift and you'd start thinking too much about the game.
Tomorrow won't be able to come quickly enough for the players. I look back at the night before Wembley and although it was a massive game, I still remember it being quite relaxed. We played poker at the hotel and chatted in our rooms. There were a few lads who weren't too experienced at the time, people like Michael Turner and Sam Ricketts, but I can remember seeing Ian Ashbee and he was completely focused. He wanted to make sure he was the one lifting the trophy so badly.
Every footballer is different and will prepare for big games in their own way. Some will be a bag of nerves, some will be chilled out. The one thing you have to be is confident. You've got to believe in yourself and your team-mates and that's what we did at Wembley.
STAY FOCUSED
Tomorrow is different to our play-off final at Wembley because promotion could end up hinging on Watford's game against Leeds, but I'm sure Steve Bruce will be telling his side to forget all about that game. It's irrelevant what Watford do so long as City win and that's all that matters.
It was a similar situation when I was at Bradford when we had to beat Liverpool on the final day to stay up. I can remember a huge roar going around Valley Parade when Southampton scored against Wimbledon, our relegation rivals, so the players won't need telling if Leeds do them a favour at Watford tomorrow.
Saying that, it's important not to get distracted by the other game. If Watford go a goal up early on, something you wouldn't rule out, you can't let that deflate you. All the emphasis has to be on taking the game to Cardiff and making life difficult for them. City have got to get the ball forward, ruffle a few feathers and make a few tackles.
The fans are there to give you backing, but you've got to give them reason to get off their seats. If it's a poor game, cause a ruck. You can't let it be flat like the Bristol City game or Cardiff will be content just to sit deep and give a good account of themselves. It's all down to City and what they do.
PLAY WITH HEART
It wasn't losing at Barnsley that hurt the 6,000 City fans at Oakwell, it was the manner of the performance that really stung. When so much is at stake, the least the supporters and your manager expects is for you to give every last thing you've got.
Games like tomorrow don't come around very often in your career. City are 90 minutes away from the Premier League and it's absolutely vital that we see players performing as though it's their very last game in football.
You can forget all about tactics and formations to a certain extent, it's about desire on days like these. If City had 11 Paul McShane's there wouldn't be a problem tomorrow. Macca's not the most gifted footballer but he's got a heart the size of a lion. He'll never give in. That's the attitude you've got to expect from every player, no one can go hiding.
Every player has got their own motivation for reaching the Premier League, but they've got to remember who else they're doing it for. I'm a Hull lad so it came naturally for me but Steve Bruce and his side only have to look around the KC Stadium when they run out tomorrow to know how much it would mean for this club.
You've got to give everything. If it's not enough and you end up in the play-offs, fair enough. But at least you can come into the dressing room afterwards knowing you've done yourself justice.
TAKE RESPONSIBILITY
The more I think about tomorrow's game, the more jealous I am. I'd do anything to be involved in a game of this significance. It's what you play the game for and what makes football so special. Sadly I'll have to watch on from the stands and, like any fan, I'll be kicking every ball. It's vital that we see that emotion in the players too because it's up to them to get the crowd going.
Each player has to take responsibility, not look to a team-mate to do it for them. This side isn't blessed with the same experience we had at Wembley, and that's been a worry for me all season, but tomorrow they all have to walk tall together.
A big thing will be to start the game brightly and look to make things happen against a Cardiff side that surely can't want this as much as us. I don't care what you say, no Cardiff player will want to come up here and get injured.
There was obviously some disappointment after the Bristol City and Barnsley games, so it's vital the players don't allow that to drift into tomorrow. Start well and grab the first goal and the whole place will be transformed, but if supporters see a nervous group of players, that mood will soon spread on to the terraces.
Not every player can have a great game tomorrow but you have to make sure you win your own individual battle. If a tackle or a header is there to be won, throw yourself in and want it as though your life depended on it. Don't come off the pitch with any regrets.
SEIZE YOUR MOMENT
As my old Middlesbrough manager Steve McClaren used to say, every game has a defining moment. It could be a goalkeeper saving a penalty, it could be a defender making a last-ditch tackle, but games can swing on any given incident. For our win at Wembley I'm privileged that it was my goal that changed everything.
I've often thought what if I'd have blasted the chance over the bar or if the keeper had saved it, but I'm not sure I've ever hit a volley quite like that one. I've said a few times that most of my volleys in training would end up in the trees. I'm lucky enough it came off for me at Wembley and it's something that will live with me for the rest of my life. That's what's at stake for these City players tomorrow. If they win, someone will be a new hero by 3pm. They'll never have to buy a drink in Hull again. It could be David Stockdale pulling off a last-minute save or it could be Robbie Brady with a special free-kick, the stage is set for someone to be the toast of the city. The one thing you can't do is let the moment pass. Grab it by the scruff of the neck and make it happen for you. After 45 games of the season, promotion will now rest upon a defining moment against Cardiff. You have to make sure it's you that takes your chance. If they do, they'll forever be a hero to these supporters.
Read more: http://www.thisishullandeastriding.co.uk/Dean-Windass-guide-Hull-City-s-promotion-hero/story-18879951-detail/story.html#ixzz2SE6oeBN3
Follow us: @thisishull on Twitter | thisishull on Facebook
This will have been the longest week in the players' lives. You try your best to relax but you can't go more than half an hour without thinking about the game. It takes over your mind. In weeks like these I wouldn't want to go home after training. So long as you were around your team-mates you'd be having a bit of a laugh and a joke, but once you went home your mind would drift and you'd start thinking too much about the game.
Tomorrow won't be able to come quickly enough for the players. I look back at the night before Wembley and although it was a massive game, I still remember it being quite relaxed. We played poker at the hotel and chatted in our rooms. There were a few lads who weren't too experienced at the time, people like Michael Turner and Sam Ricketts, but I can remember seeing Ian Ashbee and he was completely focused. He wanted to make sure he was the one lifting the trophy so badly.
Every footballer is different and will prepare for big games in their own way. Some will be a bag of nerves, some will be chilled out. The one thing you have to be is confident. You've got to believe in yourself and your team-mates and that's what we did at Wembley.
STAY FOCUSED
Tomorrow is different to our play-off final at Wembley because promotion could end up hinging on Watford's game against Leeds, but I'm sure Steve Bruce will be telling his side to forget all about that game. It's irrelevant what Watford do so long as City win and that's all that matters.
It was a similar situation when I was at Bradford when we had to beat Liverpool on the final day to stay up. I can remember a huge roar going around Valley Parade when Southampton scored against Wimbledon, our relegation rivals, so the players won't need telling if Leeds do them a favour at Watford tomorrow.
Saying that, it's important not to get distracted by the other game. If Watford go a goal up early on, something you wouldn't rule out, you can't let that deflate you. All the emphasis has to be on taking the game to Cardiff and making life difficult for them. City have got to get the ball forward, ruffle a few feathers and make a few tackles.
The fans are there to give you backing, but you've got to give them reason to get off their seats. If it's a poor game, cause a ruck. You can't let it be flat like the Bristol City game or Cardiff will be content just to sit deep and give a good account of themselves. It's all down to City and what they do.
PLAY WITH HEART
It wasn't losing at Barnsley that hurt the 6,000 City fans at Oakwell, it was the manner of the performance that really stung. When so much is at stake, the least the supporters and your manager expects is for you to give every last thing you've got.
Games like tomorrow don't come around very often in your career. City are 90 minutes away from the Premier League and it's absolutely vital that we see players performing as though it's their very last game in football.
You can forget all about tactics and formations to a certain extent, it's about desire on days like these. If City had 11 Paul McShane's there wouldn't be a problem tomorrow. Macca's not the most gifted footballer but he's got a heart the size of a lion. He'll never give in. That's the attitude you've got to expect from every player, no one can go hiding.
Every player has got their own motivation for reaching the Premier League, but they've got to remember who else they're doing it for. I'm a Hull lad so it came naturally for me but Steve Bruce and his side only have to look around the KC Stadium when they run out tomorrow to know how much it would mean for this club.
You've got to give everything. If it's not enough and you end up in the play-offs, fair enough. But at least you can come into the dressing room afterwards knowing you've done yourself justice.
TAKE RESPONSIBILITY
The more I think about tomorrow's game, the more jealous I am. I'd do anything to be involved in a game of this significance. It's what you play the game for and what makes football so special. Sadly I'll have to watch on from the stands and, like any fan, I'll be kicking every ball. It's vital that we see that emotion in the players too because it's up to them to get the crowd going.
Each player has to take responsibility, not look to a team-mate to do it for them. This side isn't blessed with the same experience we had at Wembley, and that's been a worry for me all season, but tomorrow they all have to walk tall together.
A big thing will be to start the game brightly and look to make things happen against a Cardiff side that surely can't want this as much as us. I don't care what you say, no Cardiff player will want to come up here and get injured.
There was obviously some disappointment after the Bristol City and Barnsley games, so it's vital the players don't allow that to drift into tomorrow. Start well and grab the first goal and the whole place will be transformed, but if supporters see a nervous group of players, that mood will soon spread on to the terraces.
Not every player can have a great game tomorrow but you have to make sure you win your own individual battle. If a tackle or a header is there to be won, throw yourself in and want it as though your life depended on it. Don't come off the pitch with any regrets.
SEIZE YOUR MOMENT
As my old Middlesbrough manager Steve McClaren used to say, every game has a defining moment. It could be a goalkeeper saving a penalty, it could be a defender making a last-ditch tackle, but games can swing on any given incident. For our win at Wembley I'm privileged that it was my goal that changed everything.
I've often thought what if I'd have blasted the chance over the bar or if the keeper had saved it, but I'm not sure I've ever hit a volley quite like that one. I've said a few times that most of my volleys in training would end up in the trees. I'm lucky enough it came off for me at Wembley and it's something that will live with me for the rest of my life. That's what's at stake for these City players tomorrow. If they win, someone will be a new hero by 3pm. They'll never have to buy a drink in Hull again. It could be David Stockdale pulling off a last-minute save or it could be Robbie Brady with a special free-kick, the stage is set for someone to be the toast of the city. The one thing you can't do is let the moment pass. Grab it by the scruff of the neck and make it happen for you. After 45 games of the season, promotion will now rest upon a defining moment against Cardiff. You have to make sure it's you that takes your chance. If they do, they'll forever be a hero to these supporters.
Read more: http://www.thisishullandeastriding.co.uk/Dean-Windass-guide-Hull-City-s-promotion-hero/story-18879951-detail/story.html#ixzz2SE6oeBN3
Follow us: @thisishull on Twitter | thisishull on Facebook
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