For those Hull City fans who have followed their beloved Tigers up and down the country this season, they’ll know there has been a different feel about many of those games.

On the road, City have picked up nine wins from their 18 road trips and won four in a row prior to Saturday’s trip to fellow promotion hopefuls Preston which ended in a creditable point at Deepdale. That terrific run included victories at play-off rivals Sunderland and Southampton with two victorious, dramatic and enthralling Yorkshire derbies sandwiched in the middle.

At home, however, the feeling has been very different. While there have been impressive displays, City have not perhaps played with the same verve, nor have they developed a consistent rhythm on their own patch.

In front of their own supporters, City are the ones expected to dominate. To hammer home their advantage, get the crowd off their seat and really take the game to their opposition.

The problem City have is that there’s a growing expectation from their own supporters, and because of their position in the table, opposition teams are changing the way they play; in a nutshell, they’re making life difficult for Rosenior’s men and at times this season, they’ve struggled to find a solution, an inability to crack the code.

Much has been made of the sometimes flat MKM Stadium atmosphere, and while the supporters have a huge part to play – and that’s probably a conversation for the summer about how the overall atmosphere can be improved – it’s the job of the team to excite their paying public, to get them on the edge of their seats and involved.

Away from home, City’s style of play and their setup works a treat. Teams struggle to deal with their press, and they have the ability to frustrate the home team and in turn, anger the home fans who are quick to turn on their side. You won’t get a better example of that than what we saw at Southampton. It was a breathtaking example of high-octane pressing, winning the ball high and creating chances. They sucked the life out of the St Mary’s crowd who couldn’t boo their side off quick enough at halftime.

City have two home games this week before their three-week break. And naturally, both will be completely different affairs. Birmingham will be tight, compact and look to use the counter-attacked and set-plays. They’ll be another of those teams who sit in and will challenge Rosenior’s players to break them down, it will likely be a game of patience.

The Blues have the second-worst away record in the league with only Rotherham worse. Beat Birmingham and the points against West Brom and Preston coupled with the three wins prior enhance their form, fail to beat a scrapping Blues side and it would surely be considered a major setback.