“Three top-tier players will miss out on Hull City’s exciting games as the Tigers begin a crucial week in their play-off quest at Southampton.”

The Tigers face one of their biggest tests of the season on Tuesday night against automatic promotion hopefuls Southampton

Hull City have a wonderful opportunity to cement their place in the Championship’s top six over the next three games, starting with Tuesday night’s trip to Southampton.

Successive away victories have kept Liam Rosenior’s side firmly in the play-off race and if the Tigers could inflict a first home defeat on the Saints in 12 games, they may well jump from eighth to fifth. The long trek to the South Coast kicks off a run of three games between now and next Saturday against teams challenging City for promotion, with West Brom and Preston North End to follow quickly on the back of the clash against the Saints.

Assistant boss Justin Walker says the Tigers should relish those three games against their direct rivals, but also, the 11 other games after that, particularly given their impressive return to form over the past week which saw the Tigers win at Rotherham last Tuesday before securing back-to-back victories with a sensational finish at Huddersfield on Saturday.

READ MORE: Battling Hull City show different side as Southampton trip offers big opportunity

They’re exciting games,” Walker said of the week ahead, before going on to hail the sold-out away support in Yorkshire. “I want to say also, I think the importance of a collective approach to it. I think the fans have been top. The last two away days have been fantastic, really have and I think the energy and the support that they’ve given the players, you thrive on that as a player, it’s been nice to see.

“I think that connection after the Greavesy’s (Jacob Greaves) winner on Saturday between a local boy scoring a winning goal in a Derby game, (and the fans), it’s a fantastic feeling and that energy needs to surround the team where

possible and clearly I know we’re responsible for giving that back as players and as staff and as a group, but at the same time it’s that support that’s a crucial part of it as well.