Iain Dowie knows how it feels to be relegated from the Premier League and anyone trying to tell him that time is a healer is wasting their breath. Almost five years have passed since his Crystal Palace side slipped into the Championship on the final day of the season, yet the memory of that emotional afternoon at The Valley remains vivid and has given him sleepless nights ever since.
“That day at Charlton hangs over me,” said Hull’s interim manager, who has four games left to drag the club to safety and strengthen his chance of getting the job on a permanent basis. “I still wake up at night thinking about it. We were eight minutes away and we gave away a silly free-kick. It’s a game of such small margins.”
It is an experience that Dowie recalled to the Hull City players last week, when he told them about the consequences of relegation in a “no-holds barred” meeting. He wanted the players to think beyond their “cosseted lives” and consider the impact finishing in the bottom three would have on other employees at the club, as well as the supporters and a deprived area.
Did the message get through? “They nod their heads. Whether they listen, that’s another matter,” said Dowie, smiling. “[But] I always think that if you believe something is right, say it. If you affect one player then that’s brilliant; that’s all you want to do. I’d rather be damned for doing than not doing.”
Whether he turns out to regret not applying that rule to his tactics at St Andrew’s remains to be seen. Birmingham are not the force they were a few months ago – Alex McLeish’s side have won three of their last 15 league games – and Hull need victories rather than draws to survive. Yet Dowie passed up on the chance to play with two strikers at any stage. “I understand your point,” said Dowie, when asked about his circumspect approach. “But I’ve watched a lot of videos of the away games and at times we’re too open.”
Hull will need to be more ambitious against Aston Villa on Wednesday, the first of three home fixtures between now and the end of the season. Although Joe Hart made an excellent save to deny Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink shortly before the interval, it was not until five minutes from time that Hull threatened again, when Jimmy Bullard’s driving run ended with a weak shot every bit as disappointing as this awful match.
Birmingham also lacked penetration, although with his team on course to record their highest top-flight finish since 1959, McLeish knows now is not the time to be critical. “I still feel that what we have done this season is the equivalent of going for honours,” he said. “That’s why I’m driving them to get beyond 50 points. Relatively speaking, it’s as good as anything I’ve achieved.”
Dowie would be entitled to claim the same should he keep Hull up. Relegation has been waiting to happen for a team who have earned only 43 points from 63 Premier League games over a miserable 18-month period, although you will not find Dowie waving a white flag. “It’s been very difficult coming in when you can’t affect the personnel in terms of change, but you can in terms of attitude,” he said. “I have to say the response I’ve got has been tremendous. Hopefully, that’s good enough to keep us in the league.”
Premier LeagueBirmingham CityHull CityStuart Jamesguardian.co.uk
