Monday 28 November 2016 14:55, UK
Mike Phelan says Hull will be going all out to reach the EFL Cup semi-finals despite the possibility of a fixture pile-up in the new year.
The Tigers, who sit in the Premier League relegation zone, are a win over Sky Bet Championship leaders Newcastle away from reaching the last four.
A two-legged semi-final will take Hull's tally of games in January to six, potentially more depending on FA Cup progress, after playing six league games in December.
But rather than see the EFL Cup as a hindrance to their top-flight survival hopes, Phelan believes Hull should relish the opportunity to continue their progress in a competition that has already seen them beat Exeter, Stoke and Bristol City.
"We have progressed in this cup and now we get to this stage it is important we maintain momentum," the Hull boss said.
"We have found ourselves progressing well in this competition, we are in the quarter-finals and we know if we get through this one there are two more games to be added to your calendar, when they come in January, after a busy Christmas.
"But all the players are looking forward to it. If you are in a cup competition and get that far, then you want to go as far as you possibly can.The team on the pitch will be giving it everything.
"The team that we play will be strong. I think we have got three or four players that have not played minutes up to now and going into December we need to get them out on the grass, so we will be using them.
"We should be in reasonably good shape, and be strong. There will be changes, but some of those changes are internationals. We will do our job and prepare the team to play a good Newcastle team."
Although they suffered a surprise home defeat to Blackburn on Saturday, Newcastle lead the Championship by two points after 18 fixtures and have scored 10 goals and conceded none in their three EFL Cup victories.
After relegation from the Premier League last term, Phelan thinks the Magpies are benefiting from keeping the experienced Rafael Benitez at the helm.
"Getting relegated, it has been a bit of a challenge for them but they brought in an experienced guy, really experienced guy," Phelan said.
"He would have wanted to stay in the Premier League when he took over. That didn't happen, but you have got one of the most experienced managers in the Championship, with a good squad.
"When you look at Newcastle, they have been rotating players more or less every week because of the amount of players they have got.
"I'm sure they will be looking forward to it just the same. They haven't got into those areas of quarter-finals, semi-finals and finals for a long time so they will have an eye on that, and they play on Friday (in the Championship at Nottingham Forest), so it will be interesting to see what team he plays."
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