KASEY Palmer reckons Hull City can emulate 2023 Championship play-off finalists Coventry by recovering from a disappointing start to mount a promotion push.
The Tigers failed to win any of their first six contests in all competitions – matching their worst beginning to a campaign since 1990 – before their 3-1 win at Stoke on Friday night.
But Palmer was a part of the Coventry squad that – two seasons ago – was unable to register a victory during their opening eight fixtures before going closer than any other Sky Blues side to ending the club’s 23-year Premier League hiatus, succumbing eventually to penalty shoot-out defeat against Luton at Wembley.
Despite a promise to bring “heart-attack football” to Humberside, new boss Tim Walter has struggled to set pulses racing during his opening weeks in charge of the 2014 FA Cup finalists.
Palmer, though, has insisted players must keep faith in the German manager’s methods and, then, fortunes will change, just as Coventry’s did under Mark Robins.
The 27-year-old midfielder told The FLP: “At Coventry, we still believed in what we were doing. We didn’t change our style of play and the results started to follow.
“The same can happen here. We can see what the manager is trying to do with his philosophy.
“We’ve just been making silly mistakes at the back and not taking our chances.
“There are games we could have won 4-0 this season if we’d have done better at both ends and we believe we can still aim for promotion this season.
“Even though people might think that doesn’t make sense after the startt we’ve had and there’s some frus tration, we’ve got 40 more games to play and it’s too early to start panicking.”
Palmer made the switch from Coventry to Hull on deadline day, putting pen to paper on a three-year contract during which time he wants to establish himself as a consistent first XI performer.
He went into Friday’s bet365 Stadium clash – in which he netted the equaliser – having made 101 league starts and a further 103 from the bench.
On his ambition to spend less time in the dugout and one day add to the four top-flight outings he mustered with Huddersfield in 2017, Palmer added: “I’ve come here to become a regular starter of games and to make myself a key player in the team. The owner’s ambition is also to get in the Premier League.
Ambition
“Everyone wants to play in the best league in the world and he’s signing players to help him achieve that.”
There is a theory that too many new recruits have arrived since the end of last season with 20 fresh faces replacing the 20 that moved on.
But Palmer, left, reasoned that the absence of established first-team starters could raise standards.
“Nobody knows what the best team will be and everyone wants to be in that first XI, which means competition for places is high and people want to prove themselves,” he argued.
Palmer, meanwhile, made both starting line-ups in Steve McClaren’s first two games as Jamaica manager – a 0-0 draw with Cuba and 2-1 victory over Honduras during this month’s international break.
The extended number of CONCACAF qualifying spots for the 2026 World Cup has improved the Reggae Boyz’ chances of making only their second finals following on from the legendary 1998 side that featured English-born quartet Robbie Earle, Deon Burton, Fitzroy Simpson and Paul Hall.
More than half of McClaren’s first squad were also based on these shores, including West Ham’s Michail Antonio and Brentford’s Ethan Pinnock.
Palmer added: “Every Jamaican looks back at 1998 because it meant so much and we want to be the next crop of players to bring that excitement and pride to the country. If I could do that, I think it would eclipse anything else in my career.”
