Hull have given themselves a great chance of promotion to the Premiership after last Sunday's 2-0 Championship play-off, semi final first leg victory against Watford at Vicarage Road. The two sides lock horns at the KC Stadium tonight for the second leg as the Tigers look to join Bristol City in the final at Wembley. One player who knows more about the play-offs than most is Tigers' midfielder Bryan Hughes, who has been involved in no less than five Championship play-off campaigns over the last nine years. Furthermore, the 31-year-old suffered three consecutive semi final exits with Birmingham from 1999 to 2001 so, as givemefootball's Mark Shail discovered, Hughes is taking nothing for granted this evening.
Q:WHAT ARE YOU THOUGHTS AHEAD OF THE SECOND LEG?
A:Everyone is delighted that we came away from the first leg with a 2-0 win but the job is not finished yet. Until we've finished that job off, we can't even begin to start thinking of Wembley.
Q:I SUPPOSE THE FIRST GOAL WILL BE CRUCIAL?
A:The next goal at the KC Stadium is going to me massive. Hopefully, it will go to us and we finish the tie off, but if it goes to Watford then there's going to be a few nervous people around the ground.
Q:THE WHOLE CITY MUST BE BUZZING AT THE MOMENT?
A:Wembley is the talk of the town. Everyone thinks we're going but we have to stay focussed. You've got to be happy for the fans. Away from football, you have people in the streets coming up to you and telling you they're going to Wembley and this and that. You have to try and distance yourself from that and stay focussed.
Q:AND YOU'VE EXPERIENCED PROMOTION TO THE PREMIERSHIP WITH BIRMINGHAM VIA THE PLAY-OFFS BEFORE, HAVEN'T YOU?
A:It's an experience that you never forget. And it is a nice way to get to the Premier League. I achieved it with Birmingham – we went to the Millennium Stadium in 2002 and it was a great atmosphere.
Q:BUT YOU'VE ALSO HAD YOUR FAIR SHARE OF PLAY-OFF DISAPPOINTMENTS?
A:Yes, I also had three semi final heartaches three years on the spin and that was difficult. It was not nice at all. Two of those defeats were on penalties too, so hopefully we won't need them tonight. In fact, I think it's only once that I have gone into the second leg of the play-offs in front. We won 1-0 at St Andrew's against Preston but then lost 2-1 in the return. It was the first year that away goals did not count double - that just about summed Birmingham up at the time because we then lost on penalties.
Q:IT SEEMS LIKE THERE IS NO CHANCE OF ANY COMPLACENCY CREEPING IN?
A:There is a danger of getting complacent when you are 2-0 up but that is not what we're about. We have proved that this season because we have always tried to score goals. I can't see it being any different against Watford.
Q:HAVE YOU PLAYED AT WEMBLEY BEFORE?
A:I have never played at Wembley in my career but I was there a few weeks ago to watch the FA Cup semi final between Portsmouth and West Brom. I had the taste of it then and it's an unbelievable stadium. But we have another game to play and the next goal at the KC is vital.
