Hull City v Doncaster Rovers: Liam Rosenior wants Tigers to bare their teeth on home turf

The Tigers lost their opening Championship game 2-1 in controversial circumstances at Norwich City with coach Rosenior feeling his players were too hyped up and not brave enough in possession.

But it is in East Yorkshire, not East Anglia, where he feels their play-off ambitions will be decided. So whilst there will not be any points on the line against Grant McCann's Doncaster – beaten at home to Harrogate Town on Saturday – Rosenior wants to see the traits a formidable home record can be built on.

"I think it's a great game for us because going into Sheffield Wednesday at home on Saturday, we need to dominate at home if we're going to be where we want to be," argued Rosenior. "We need to win our home games, which we didn't do at the start of last season.

"We've got a really good home record in my time here and we need to get into a winning habit, starting on Tuesday.

"It's a mentality and that's why I put the extra (pre-season) game in against (Conference North side) Scunthorpe. It was a good learning curve for us.

"We'll treat it the same way we would any other league game, preparing tactically the same way, we've gone through the way Doncaster play and their shape and strengths and weaknesses and I want to see a real team performance.

"They play typical Grant McCann-type football – high energy. They didn't deserve to lose at the weekend. They play high energy but possession-based football with width. They like to get crosses in the box."

"Really good" might be a generous take on Rosenior's 14 home matches in charge, but Hull were certainly hard to beat, with only Reading, in the former defender's opening KCOM Stadium game, Fulham and Burnley getting the better of them. It is the six draws they must improve upon.

Rosenior was delighted with the work ethic at Carrow Road, where he felt Adam Idah's stoppage-time winner owed much to a foul on Hull’s Sean McLoughlin, but wants to his side to improve on the ball.

"We ran, we grafted, we fought, we blocked shots – we blocked too many shots because we gave the ball away too cheaply and it wasn't in pressure moments, it was one of those days where nothing really seemed to stick," he complained.

"I'd got a group of players who were itching for that first game of the season and I could tell before the game I needed to calm them down."

Asked where Hull must improve, he replied: "To be braver, to take care of the ball, the finer details and all the things we talk about in training.

"In terms of blocking shots and defending crosses, it was magnificent. We had that last season and it takes you really far but the next level for us is to go 1-0 and 2-0 up. We didn't take care of enough to give ourselves a foothold in the game."

When he spoke to the media on Monday morning, Rosenior was still angry at the red card he received for his reaction to Norwich's winner, in time he thought should not have been added to the five minutes already tacked onto the second half.

"Hopefully it's taken into account that it's a reaction to something that shouldn't have happened in the first place," he said.

"There was no offensive language towards the fourth official, no name-calling. I threw my jacket on the floor in rage, a reaction to them scoring a last-minute goal away from home as well as the decision (but) I still don't know why I've been sent off.

"I didn't react in any way aggressively towards anyone."

McCann will also be looking for his players to learn from the weekend, where he was unhappy with a "poor" first half from his reshaped side, as well as carrying his own grievances with officialdom.

It will be the first time he has taken a team to Hull since they sacked him in January 2022. McCann, who won League One with the Tigers in 2020-21, had only nice things to say about them.

"I had a very good time at Hull and really enjoyed it – working with really good people, staff and players," he commented.

"I am here now at Doncaster Rovers and trying to give everything to this football club. But it's always nice to go back to previous clubs – particularly Hull.

"Rosenior was complimentary about "a really good coach who did an outstanding job here. I like his values, and I've reaped the benefits of a lot of the hard work he's done in terms of bringing players like Macca (McLoughlin), Alfie (Jones) and Regan (Slater) to the club."

Hull winger Ryan Longman has been given permission to speak to Turkish Super Lig side Fatih Karagumruk about a possible loan.

"I felt it was right to give him that opportunity," explained Rosenior. "He's in a position where he needs to be guaranteed games in his career and I can't do that here."