Brown - FA Cup a relief
Hull City manager Phil Brown says the FA Cup has brought some welcome relief recently.
Last Updated: 17/03/09 9:28am
Hull City boss Phil Brown says this season's FA Cup has brought some welcome relief from their battle against Premier League relegation.
The Tigers made a blistering start to life in England's top-flight after winning promotion to the Premier League via last season's Championship play-off final.
However, after flirting with the possibility of finishing the campaign in the European places, the club saw their form tail off and recently go on a 17-game league run without victory.
Brown tried not to tinker too much with his starting XI for Cup matches and Hull City have been rewarded by securing a quarter-final trip to Arsenal on Tuesday evening.
The Tigers are now just one match away from another trip to Wembley and the former Bolton Wanderers assistant boss believes their good Cup run has paid dividends by revitalising his squad for league action.
Doom and good
"All the doom-and-gloom merchants were harping on about the fact we hadn't won in 17 league games, well, the FA Cup gave respite from that," said Brown.
"The point is, our performances were good but results were hurting. The Cup run reminded us of how good we can be. It meant players were still bouncing, still coming into training looking forward to the sessions we were putting on.
"A smile on a player's face is priceless to me. There's no question that the FA Cup maintained spirit."
Geovanni's form tailed off during their winless streak, but the Brazilian, who helped Hull City win at Arsenal earlier in the season, sees no reason why they cannot secure a second Emirates victory this term.
Anything is possible
"In football, some unthinkable things can easily become possible," said the 28-year-old former Manchester City man, who impressed in Saturday's 1-1 draw with Newcastle.
"Any player must have a winning mentality. In all my life I always sought to win and in football nothing is impossible.
"It is difficult to say which teams are easier to defeat - what we really care about is playing our game and seeking to win.
"It will be an important game for us in this competition."