Hull saviour David Brown on the Tigers’ latest survival bid

“At the time, you don’t see it as a big deal. It was known as the ‘Great Escape season’ and we managed to turn it around. My goal against Torquay was not thought of as a massive goal but on reflection, you look at it and how the club has progressed since with a new stadium and Premier League football, and I was proud to be a part of the moment that the club’s fortunes changed.”

“It’s very difficult to replace a player like to like, especially Robert Snodgrass. Marco Silva has been able to bring some other players in to improve the team and squad. Robert was a massive player to lose but you have to move on, you can’t keep worrying about that.

“The way Hull set up with Snodgrass meant he was a focal point, so now they’ll have to change their tactics and way of playing and other teams will also have to set up a different way when they play them.

“As a player, you don’t think about losing fellow players. Managers have to make those difficult decisions but players can’t be down about it, they have to keep doing their job. Your career is on the line too, especially if the club you play for goes down. If the club think it’s the right thing to do, all you do as a player is get on with it.”

“It’s funny because one day I wanted Hull to get beat (as a United fan) and the next I wanted Hull to win. Two very good results against two good teams. They had a great start to the season but then tailed off and I think they’re back on track. These are the sort of results that help you kick on, even when you lose your best players.”

“Firstly, it’s never nice when people like Mike Phelan lose their jobs and he was doing a decent job in a difficult situation, especially if the media and fans turn on the manager. At the time, I thought it was a bit of a risk to hire Silva because of his unknown profile in England but it’s still early days, you can only judge him at the end of the season, not on what he’s currently doing.

“The team is now playing in a way that stands them in good stead to stay up. The players are responding well and talking well of the manager, so he’s doing a very good job.”

“Of course it’s possible. Their confidence is sky high and there is that building of pressure on Arsenal. If Hull can keep it 0-0 as long as possible and frustrate the fans, then they can expose gaps in their opponents.

“Arsenal are a good team at the Emirates but they lack that spine, the mental toughness to win when it matters, but they’ve got plenty of strengths. I think for Arsenal it’s a confidence issue. They’ve got the quality to win the league, but aren’t mentality strong enough at times. Hull need to be defensively compact, learn from Watford’s tactics and try and imitate them.”

“I don’t think it’s ever good to get the fans on the wrong side. Clubs are a business and the board will treat it as such, but fans are not commodities, so don’t treat them as such. Some of the decisions seem to have been made without consultation. They have a right to do this, it’s their club, but the fans also have a right to protest against this.

“I think there’s a breakdown between the fans and the board because of poor communication and not involving them in decisions. The board need to understand that clubs have lost their way and disappeared through poor decisions.

“Hull was in a terrible state when I arrived and David Lloyd, the chairman at the time, was hated by the fans to the extent that during a game – Doncaster away – the Hull fans were in the centre circle throwing drawing pins to get the game called off. To be honest, a few fans leaving won’t upset the board and their finances, but there certainly has to be less of a disconnect between the fans and the board.”

“Teams around them have been in the position before, so they’ve got an edge on Hull. It’s interesting because six or seven teams could get sucked in to it but I think they’ll stay up.”

“I was player-assistant manager and then a week before the season, the manager at the time got sacked, so I took on the role of player-manager so close to the start of the season. It is a very, very difficult thing to get right. You’ve got to become distant to the players, but then you’ve also got to be involved as you’ve got to play.

“It will be very different club to club. At Forest Green it was very difficult because it was a small club and I was essentially doing everything; playing, coaching, training, press enquiries and dealing with signings. The role is vanishing, especially at bigger clubs because they can afford people to do multiple roles. For clubs saving money, lower down the leagues, having someone doing two, three or four jobs in one can save the club money.

“On reflection, I spread myself too thin and didn’t put enough time in to any of the roles. I don’t think it can work successfully at any club, but it’s certainly easier to separate roles at bigger clubs, like Ryan Giggs did at United.”

“The new owner has come in and invested heavily to the extent that the financial infrastructure in place is absolutely frightening for that level. The owner has backed every single manager at that club since David Hockaday, so really they should not be in the Conference, they should be in the Football League. The club has the highest budget, they’ve spent the most money on players, so they should not be in the Conference.

“However, they are in the Conference and it’s one of the most difficult leagues to get out of. It’s a tough ask but I definitely do think they should be doing better with the money they’ve got. I suspect the wage bill they’ve got is higher than some League Two teams, so they’ve got no excuses from that standpoint. The only saving grace is that the league they’re in is incredibly difficult. Mark Cooper is doing a good job and hopefully they’ll go up this year.”

“It’s a collective issue, I’m not for or against it. If the chairman is vegan and his belief is to make the club vegan only then it’s fine as long as the fans and players are on board with it. I think it’s a great way forward. The plans for the new stadium are amazing, with the introduction of an eco-friendly structure – it’s going to be a truly revolutionary stadium.”

“The promotion season was brilliant, there was a fantastic team spirit. For a small club like Accrington, to do what we did against much bigger teams was amazing. After 40 years, to get the team back in to the League was a very proud moment for me. Everything was stacked against us but we didn’t let it faze us.”

“I’ve been at a few clubs that have either folded, reformed or almost faced extinction and the one thing that is constant is the fans. Keeping the fans on board is absolutely essential because a lot of clubs were saved by community projects and fan groups. Accrington Stanley have a great set of loyal fans and have helped the club stay on its feet.”

“Last season, they were a minute from automatic promotion to League One and I think staying down took the stuffing out of them. When you’re at that level, quite a few players move on and come in, so it’s unsettling and difficult to keep the momentum from last season.

“The rub of the green has gone against them this season but Coley (John Coleman) has done a great job for the team and I hope the fans don’t turn on him and let him do his job. I have every confidence they’ll stay up and kick on next year. John Coleman has always been good at spotting players, and players like Noor Husin are repaying his faith in them.”

“The budget that we’re looking at for Motherwell is not comparable with a lot of English teams or some other clubs, especially the likes of Celtic and Rangers. To be honest, some of the under-23 teams I go to watch frequently will have bigger budgets than most Scottish clubs. The Scottish League would probably compete with League One or LeagueTwo money wise.

“One thing to entice players is that playing for Motherwell is a good shop window for potential transfers to bigger English clubs, Celtic or Rangers and the possibility of European football .”

“This year, I’ve watched a lot of Everton under-23s and one player that really took my eye was Tom Davies. I’m seeing him in an environment of under-23 level, but to then put him in with better players, he looks a world-beater. It’s difficult at times to see players playing with peers in the under-23s to then see whether you can take him out and play him in the first team.

“He’s a good all-rounder and you don’t see enough of those these days. He’s a true box-to-box midfielder. He can throw in tackles and then take on several players and score like he did against Manchester City. Everton will do the right thing with him and he’s at the right place to continue his development.”

“I loved every minute playing for Hereford United and to see them dissolve was incredibly difficult, but the re-formed team is doing really well. They’ve got an incredible fan base and Hereford is a great place to play, so they’ve got all the right things to be a good team.

“Adversity at a club brings people together, so I definitely don’t think they’ll be complacent when it comes to seeing out promotion and kicking on. In terms of the budget and fans, they will far exceed any others in their league. It was not long ago that they were in League One, so I’ve got every confidence that they’ll climb back up in the leagues again.

“It’s difficult for Hereford to drop out the league. When I was at Hull, we were vying to stay in the League against Scarborough. They were a massive club and when you look at their regression since getting relegated that season, they’ve disappeared as a football club in the last five to 10 years. As soon as the club moves down to the Conference, the money goes away, the sponsors go away and some of the fans go away, so it’s a very difficult task to get back out of it.”

“He’s getting a lot of undeserved criticism. Only one team can win the league in any season and it’s so difficult to do so. Arsenal are one of those teams that there seems to be an agenda by the media to have the manager out.

“The work that Arsene Wenger has done for this club for the last 15-20 years is nothing short of brilliant. There’s absolutely no guarantee that whoever comes in after Wenger will continue to keep Arsenal in the Champions League year in year out and play the entertaining football that we love to watch. Football has changed and managers don’t stick around for more than five years at a time, so to stick around for so long is a testament to Wenger’s ability.”

“You can’t accuse them of this. They’ve consistently performed at the highest level for a long time. The one difficulty is sustaining results across the season. They always have a blip, especially against the big teams, but to finish in the top four consistently shows that they are not mentally fragile.”

“He’s never lost his mojo. You don’t become a bad manager overnight and he had a bad season at Chelsea, but other managers can’t compare to him in terms of the trophies he’s won. I’m looking forward to watching United win trophies in the years to come with Jose.

“Although the League Cup might not be the highest priority, you’ve got to try and win that and move forward to next season. United have the chance to win three cup competitions and finish second this season, as I think Chelsea won’t lose enough points for anyone to catch them.”

“I think we have this belief that the Premier League is miles better than ever other league. We’ve got a good standard but we forget that other teams in other leagues are competitive too. Ibrahimovic is a proven, world class striker who is 35, but he’s in peak physical condition. He’s not a player that relies on pace or being box to box. He’s a big stature-type player that will look after the ball and make something special happen.

“He could play and score goals for another three or four years at United. I think he’s the perfect character for United at the minute and will bring the young lads on with his experience”