Hull will play Middlesbrough in the Championship play-off final at Wembley after Southampton were removed for admitting they spied on Middlesbrough before their semi-final. Hull’s build-up was overshadowed by the Spygate scandal and the appeal was rejected, leaving both teams only three days to prepare. Sergej Jakirovic said it was a relief to know the opponent and that Hull had prepared for Southampton for at least seven days, then shifted to Middlesbrough preparation from Tuesday evening. He said Hull and Middlesbrough already played twice, so both teams know each other well, and Hull remains focused on its own performance and advantages. Middlesbrough’s Kim Hellberg said the week was emotionally difficult and involved many swings after the Southampton match.
"Hull boss Sergej Jakirovic says it is a relief to finally be able to prepare properly for tomorrow's Championship play-off final against Middlesbrough. The Tigers' build-up to a game billed 'the richest in world football' and apparently worth over £200million to the winner has been overshadowed by the 'Spygate' scandal with Southampton kicked out of the final after admitting they had spied on Middlesbrough prior to their semi-final, first leg."
""For sure it's a relief because since Tuesday [the day when the EFL gave their initial ruling] we know against who we are playing," said former Bosnia midfielder Jakirovic. "Of course, we prepared [for] at least last seven days for Southampton because they won in the semi-finals. And then from Tuesday evening we started to prepare this game against Middlesbrough, which is maybe a little bit short.""
""But we already played two times against Southampton and against Middlesbrough, so we know everything about them. They know everything about us. I'm optimistic because we had a few very good sessions. "Our main focus since we reached the finals, it's this final game. So no matter who will be our opponent, our focus and concentration is on our team, what we can do there, how we can use our advantages there. And then this is the main thing.""
"For Middlesbrough, the situation was more simple. They knew their opponents would be Hull providing they were reinstated. Despite that, boss Kim Hellberg says the last week has been very difficult. "There have been a lot of emotions. It has been a crazy time," he said. "It's bee""
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