Portsmouth fans will love what Hull and Burton have said as they aim to thwart Charlton and Oxford's League One play-off hopes

Accrington head to Fratton Park determined they can spoil Pompey’s play-off chances.
Hull boss Grant McCann. Picture: George Wood/Getty ImagesHull boss Grant McCann. Picture: George Wood/Getty Images
Hull boss Grant McCann. Picture: George Wood/Getty Images

Despite having secured a mid-table finish, John Coleman’s insisted Stanley won’t be rolling over ‘for the integrity of the league’ as Oxford and Charlton also chase the final top-six spot.

Although Pompey are in the driving seat and cannot be caught should they deliver a win, the seventh and eighth-placed rivals are waiting to pounce if there is a slip-up.

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However, the pair’s respective opponents this afternoon are out to do Pompey a big favour.

Hull City and Burton are in a similar situation to Accrington, with their fates already secured heading into the final day of the season.

The Tigers have been crowned champions ahead of their trip to Charlton, while Burton’s spot in the division for the 2021-22 campaign has long been secured as they go to Oxford.

Yet they are gunning to successfully bring the curtain down on their seasons.

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Hull can finish the season with 92 points, which would be a club record.

Manager Grant McCann insists his troops have that feat firmly in their sights.

He told the club’s website: ‘We’ve got an opportunity to get to 92 points, with the Club’s previous best being 90 I believe, so there is a real focus and determination about this group to get there. There’s also that desire to add to our tally of clean sheets and goals, so there’s still plenty to work towards in this last game of the season.

‘There has been a real buzz around the training ground and the stadium this week, and the city as a whole to be honest, so we’re really looking forward to the challenge we will face on Sunday. We’ve prepared for the game in the same way that we have done all through the season.

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‘We know that we’ll be coming up against a Charlton team that has got stronger since Nigel Adkins took charge there and they have their own aspirations of reaching the play-offs. I think that lends itself towards being a really good game.

‘They have to win so the pressure is on them and they will have to come at us, and we know how threatening we can be on the transition. The game plan is set and we’ve prepared well.’

Having looked doomed for relegation, Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink’s return as manager in January resulted in a dramatic upturn for Burton.

They’ve steered well clear of the drop and now the Dutchman wants the Brewers to continue their improvements at Oxford.

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He told the club’s website: ‘People are saying we have nothing to gain but I am saying we have a lot to gain.

‘It is a test for us where we are mentally. We have to be really stubborn and think about us – not think about them.

‘We need to keep progressing and this is another test for us. That’s how we have to see it. We need to come through that test.’