We take a look at what the managers have said ahead of the 25/26 Championship playoff semi final 1st legs which get underway this week.
Playoff schedule
Play-off semi-final first legsHull vs Millwall – Friday May 8, kick-off 8pmMiddlesbrough vs Southampton – Saturday May 9, kick-off 12.30pm
Play-off semi-final second legsMillwall vs Hull – Monday May 11, 8pmSouthampton vs Middlesbrough – Tuesday May 12, 8pm
Play-off finalSaturday May 23, Wembley Stadium
SKY BET ODDS:
Sky Bet – 7th MaySouthampton – 15/8Middlesbrough – 2/1Millwall – 9/4Hull – 6/1
Hull manager Sergej Jakirovic: “It’s a completely different approach. In the last round [of games of the season] you must win and still you might not be in the top six.
“I think it will be easier to play because you have 180 minutes. I have experience from Dinamo [Zagreb] when we had a play-off to reach the Champions League.
“You have to be very wise. It will not decide anything, the first game. There are no away goals. It’s who will handle the pressure better.
“No matter this result on Friday, Monday will be everything. We will try to hide our minuses. It’s not so easy because we know them, they know us.
“It depends who will be in the mood to play one-on-ones, to pass the players, to make successful crosses into the box, who will score their chances.”
🗣️ “He’s available for this game”
🎥 @HullCity’s Sergej Jakirovic with an update on John Egan who came off at half-time vs Norwich PLUS a general squad update for playoff 1st leg with Millwall.
🎧 Full interview to come soon 👉🏻 https://t.co/wb97IPn0Qe#hcafc | @RadioHumberside pic.twitter.com/3eDAHUcn5o
— BBC Humberside Sport (@HumbersideSport) May 6, 2026
🗣️ “Yeah he’s talking to me this week”
📽️ WATCH: @HullCity‘s Kyle Joseph says there’s no family feud as they take on a @MillwallFC team his dad’s been a lifelong supporter of.
🎧 Full pre-match interview 👉 https://t.co/JN5vEDgNW4#hcafc | @RadioHumberside | @BBCLondonSport pic.twitter.com/693D5dcbjE
— BBC Humberside Sport (@HumbersideSport) May 7, 2026
Hull’s Lewis Coyle said, per Sky Sports: “I was a young boy – I call it ‘the golden era’, when Hull had that first success at Wembley. That’s the stuff I dreamed of being able to do as a player myself.
“I look back with fond memories. It’s great for the city, it’s great for everyone involved at the club and it’s now time for me to put my stamp on things and really try and make it happen.
“It means everything to be club captain. It’s something I’m very, very proud of. I don’t take it for granted. I know that a football career is very short and this will all be over someday.
“To be able to proudly say I’m the club captain of my hometown club, it would just make it that bit sweeter if we go on and achieve that ultimate dream of getting this club back to the Premier League.
“In a nutshell, that would do for me. It would be beyond my wildest dreams, and if I can keep a little promise I made to someone a long time ago, it would make me very, very happy.”
👏 We need the fans’ backing!
Watch the gaffer’s preview ahead of Friday night on Millwall TV+ now. pic.twitter.com/PUoJvcp8c8
— Millwall FC (@MillwallFC) May 6, 2026
Millwall’s Alex Neil told Sky Sports:
“Play-off games are different because they’re essentially knockout matches. We’ve got two legs to try and get the result we need.
“Our away form has been the best in the division, so we’re hoping to get a positive result in the first leg and then bring it back to The Den. The key thing is making sure the occasion doesn’t get the better of you, that will be crucial for both teams.
“I think the biggest difference is that we now play without fear. I only had half a season last year, but even then our away form in the second half of the campaign was pretty good.
“This year we’ve had a full season playing that way. Whether we’re home or away, we approach games the same way. There’s no major change in style depending on the venue, and that consistency has helped us pick up some brilliant away results.
“We’ve managed that well throughout the end of the season. When you’re in a strong position, naturally there’s more expectation and scrutiny on both the team and myself. But I think we’ve handled that better and better as the season has gone on.
“We’ve had big away games at Middlesbrough and Ipswich and handled them brilliantly. We then had games we absolutely needed to win, like QPR and Stoke.
“Leicester was probably the one disappointment towards the end of the season, but then we still had a job to do against Oxford and we managed that too. From our perspective, we’ve got nothing to lose. It’s about attacking every game and giving our best, just as we’ve done all season.”
Millwall’s Tristan Crama said to Sky Sports: “We know it’s two games, but we’re just focusing on Friday first. We had such a good record away this season, so we’re going there to attack the game and win it. Obviously, it will only be halfway through it, but I’m not going to think about Monday first. I just think about Friday.
“We’re just going to go there to attack and win it. We’re not going there to try and hold a score. We did that all season, and we got the best away record. I’m going there to win the game.
“Every game is different, but [winning 3-1 at Hull in March] just means you go in there and you know you can beat them because you already did it.
“It’s different now because it’s the play-offs, so I guess the atmosphere at the stadium will be different as well. I’m looking forward to it.
“The mentality in the squad is amazing. We’re not getting too low, we’re not getting too high, so we still have the same mindset that we’re going to attack the game like we attacked the previous 46 games.”
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Middlesbrough head coach Kim Hellberg said in his press conference, per Sky Sports: “You have to do it in a little bit of a different way.
“The best way to say it is it’s the first half of a game. That’s the simple way of saying it, but it also means things.
“If it’s 10 minutes left and you are one up or one behind, it’s not the same thing as having 10 minutes left in a regular game, where you throw everything in different directions, depending on the score.
“That is the thing you need to be aware of. It’s not a game that will be decided on Saturday as we will play 90 minutes more, then maybe extra-time on Tuesday.
“And then it’s different playing against a team on Saturday and then the same team on the Tuesday. Only in the play-offs can you get to those types of games, where you play the same team so quickly after the first game.”
Southampton head coach Tonda Eckert: “They have been quite clear in the way they approach the game. It is quite clear to see where they have their strengths.
“If they catch a good day and they start to flow, they are a good team in certain aspects of the game.
“[But] we come from some good weeks and months. In the end it is about getting our strengths on the pitch like we have been doing for many weeks now.”
Eckert insists his side won’t be playing for a draw, with the 2nd leg at St Mary’s: “No, that is not the way we approach games.
“At no part of the season has that ever been our approach, to draw a game. We will go there to win.
“We will do everything to win, and then we will see where we stand.”
