Football: EL'S BELLS

FLYING winger Stuart Elliott has promised to hit the ground running when Hull touch down at Bloomfield Road today.

Scoring 20 goals before Christmas is considered a stunning effort for any striker worth their salt, but to do so from the left flank makes Elliott's achievements this season all the more impressive.

The Northern Ireland international is in sizzling form of late and has scored eight goals in his last six games - including a hat-trick against Tranmere last weekend.

"It's been a fantastic season so far," reflected Elliott. "The hat- trick against Rovers was my first in City colours and crowned all the hard work I've been putting in since the summer.

"People don't expect you to score every game from the left-hand side, but I'm having a great time and really enjoying myself.

"We've got ourselves in a good position, so it's massively important we keep up the momentum against Blackpool."

Elliott's rich vein of form unsurprisingly runs parallel to Hull's fortunes this season. Four League wins on the spin have moved Peter Taylor's men up to second in the table and well within the reach of leaders Luton.

The arrival of former England international Nick Barmby has been the crucial to City's success.

Many questioned the motives behind Barmby's move from Leeds to East Yorkshire and accused him of wanting to play out his career in his home town. However, the former England international has looked in wonderful nick over the last few months - which has made Elliott's job that much easier.

"Nicky has been absolutely brilliant for us and I am certainly creating a lot more chances and getting more goals as a result," added Elliott.

"It was a fantastic achievement getting out of the old Third Division with the squad we had, but we've got cover everywhere now and should really give it a go this season.

"People have asked me if I want to go to a bigger club, but there were more than 20,000 watching us against Tranmere and, as far as I'm concerned, I'm happy where I am."

Blackpool lie a point off the relegation places and are desperate for a positive result. They will not make life easy for Taylor's troops.

After failing to win any of their first nine League matches, manager Colin Hendry is starting to turn things around and his side have only lost one of their last 11 home games.

"It will be a tough game as they are a good side going forward and have scored a lot of goals," added Elliott.

Copyright 2004 MGN LTD
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved.