Clarets v Hull ‘huge for both teams’: Marney

Dean Marney is hoping for a repeat of the last time he returned to face former club Hull City at the KC Stadium.
Burnley's Dean Marney

Photographer Dave Howarth/CameraSport

FootballBurnley's Dean Marney

Photographer Dave Howarth/CameraSport

Football
Burnley's Dean Marney Photographer Dave Howarth/CameraSport Football

Marney made 138 appearances for the Tigers after moving from Spurs in July 2006, helping the club win promotion to the Premier League for the first time in their history.

He left four years later to join Burnley after both clubs were relegated, and the same scenario played out last season as the Clarets and Hull exited the top flight.

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The 31-year-old was out with a cruciate knee injury when Burnley won 1-0 there in May, a victory which wasn’t enough to stave off the drop.

But it was a ninth win in 10 against Hull, and fifth-successive triumph at the KC.

Their previous win there came in November 2012, when Marney last featured there, and he scored the only goal of the game after taking some flak from his old fans.

And he said, ahead of a meeting of fourth versus fifth: “Last time I went there I got a bit of stick and managed to nick a goal so I’d take that again.

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“It was just a bit of banter. I had good times there and I think every player going back to their old club gets a bit of stick, it’s something I’m not worried about to be honest.

“It’s a massive game for us, we can hopefully put a bit of pressure on the boys at the top, and if we get beat, there’s a bit of a gap, so it’s huge for both teams.”

Marney is looking to make it three starts on the spin after 10 months out after his knee injury, and a subsequent thigh problem, and the all-action midfielder feels in good shape: “Obviously it was a long time out, so to have two games in four days was really good and hopefully I can continue that.

“I feel really good at the minute, I’ve worked hard and you never maybe quite know how it’s going to go because the difference from reserve and first team football is massive.

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“But I’ve done a lot of work with (strength and conditioning coach) Tom Short and come back nice and strong, and I feel in a really good place.

“You have to get your confidence back that your knee can cope with it, because it’s a serious injury, but I was back training before six months, so I knew I would be fine, but then I tore my thigh, which killed me, that cost me nine weeks, but that’s the way it goes really.”

His renowned fitness will be put to the test over the Festive period, with Bristol City next up at Turf Moor on Monday, but he admitted: “I think a lot is made of the Christmas period, but we’re used to Saturday-Tuesday so it’s just one day different, we know how fit we are and never really overthink it, we just treat it like a normal week.”