The Hull City captain is set to make his first appearance of the season against Stoke City this weekend, after helping his manager against Bournemouth.
Hull City caretaker manager Mike Phelan before the game
Hull City boss Mike Phelan has, in comments published by Sky Sports, admitted to the press ahead of Saturday’s match against Stoke that captain Michael Dawson assisted him from the bench in last weekend’s harrowing 6-1 defeat to Bournemouth.
The ex England international played 37 times last season, but is yet to feature so far this season after a knee injury suffered during pre-season.
But with Phelan lacking backroom staff following Steve Bruce’s departure and new role at Aston Villa, and Phelan himself only just unveiled as Hull manager, Dawson lent him a helping hand.
Hull City manager Mike Phelan alongside Michael Dawson
However, the former Tottenham man will be back on the pitch as the Tigers host the Potters this weekend.
“He experienced sitting on bench last week and he doesn’t want to experience that again,” Phelan explained of Dawson’s involvement on the South Coast, according to Sky quotes.
“You want leaders in your team, you want experience and Michael certainly carries a lot of that. He’s trained all week, he’s ready and available, and I’m sure he’ll feature in the game.”
Given the nature of the loss to the Cherries, Dawson’s return can’t come at a better time for Hull, who were early pace-setters in the first couple of rounds of Premier League matches. The Tigers defied their injury woes and uncertainty over the management team to beat champions Leicester City on the opening weekend, before triumphing over Swansea City. However, since then the Yorkshire side have failed to pick up another win, and the return of a player with Dawson’s top flight experience and leadership should help shore up a back line that will likely be licking its wounds after the previous fixture.
And as an added bonus, the 32-year-old may have picked up a couple of insights from as siting Phelan during the defeat at the Vitality Stadium.
Hull City’s Michael Dawson is sprayed with champagne as they celebrate winning promotion back to the Premier League
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