Eliot Matazo has different view on Hull City and it's up to him to prove why
Eliot Matazo believes Hull City are in a false position in the Championship, though he admits it's up to him and the players to prove it over the next 17 games.
Matazo joined City from Monaco last week in one of the more eye-catching moves in the Championship and came off the bench to make his debut at Sheffield United last Friday evening when Ruben Selles' side produced a terrific display to win 3-0 and stun Bramall Lane.
City find themselves 19th in the Championship and face Stoke City on Saturday, the side directly below them in the table, at the MKM Stadium in what is being dubbed a must-win game.
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The 22-year-old Belgian midfielder is hoping to make his home debut on Saturday against the Potters, with City eyeing just a third home win of the season which would ease their fears a little more.
Fresh into the group, Matazo admits the lowly league position has caught him by surprise, but believes Selles' squad has the quality to pull away from danger, providing everybody does their bit.
"We have good quality, and now we just have to bring it out on the pitch, so it doesn't surprise me as soon as we can bring all the qualities into the pitch (we can be successful)," he told Hull Live. "I was not surprised about the reason because the quality is there, and we aim high; we want to do big things. We want to finish strong, so that's what we have to do.
"Yes (it is a surprise)," he continued when asked if it was a surprise to see City at the bottom end of the league, given their display in the Steel City. "When I see the training, there's a good team, so it surprised me, but it's also given me hope. I can only explain that this is not a place (where City should be), and this is not where we want to be, so it gives us hope that we can do better and there's room for improvement. As soon as everybody is on the same path, we can only do better and get up in the rankings."
While fans have basked in the glory of that victory a week ago, attention turns quickly to the visit of Mark Robins' Potters, and their exploits in Sheffield will count for little if the Tigers lose to Stoke and don't build on it, something Matazo is acutely aware of, as he hopes to make his first outing at the MKM Stadium.
"For sure, in football, you forget easily what you've done in the past, so now it's about doing it again, replicating this performance again, again, again, because that's only in this way that we're going to get better.
"Personally, I'm very excited to play my first home game and get to see the fans. It's going to be a very special moment. I'm looking forward to it.
"Our ambitions stay the same. We want to win. Is it at home or away? We want to win. We need to get these points, which are very important, so obviously, it's much nicer to get a home win, but for sure, we'll try to do our best to get the win."
You can listen to the full interview with Eliot Matazo by clicking one of the following links to hear the 1904 Club podcast...
