What the managers have said ahead of the 25/26 Championship playoff semi final 1st legs

We check out what the managers have mentioned forward of the 25/26 Championship playoff semi closing 1st legs which get underway this week.

Playoff schedule

Play-off semi-final first legsHull vs Millwall – Friday Might 8, kick-off 8pmMiddlesbrough vs Southampton – Saturday Might 9, kick-off 12.30pm

Play-off semi-final second legsMillwall vs Hull – Monday Might 11, 8pmSouthampton vs Middlesbrough – Tuesday Might 12, 8pm

Play-off finalSaturday Might 23, Wembley Stadium

SKY BET ODDS:

Sky Guess – seventh MaySouthampton – 15/8Middlesbrough – 2/1Millwall – 9/4Hull – 6/1

Hull supervisor Sergej Jakirovic: “It’s a very completely different strategy. Within the final spherical [of games of the season] you should win and nonetheless you won’t be within the prime six.

“I feel it will likely be simpler to play as a result of you’ve 180 minutes. I’ve expertise from Dinamo [Zagreb] after we had a play-off to achieve the Champions League.

“You need to be very clever. It won’t determine something, the primary recreation. There are not any away targets. It’s who will deal with the stress higher.

“Regardless of this outcome on Friday, Monday shall be every thing. We’ll attempt to cover our minuses. It’s not really easy as a result of we all know them, they know us.

“It relies upon who shall be within the temper to play one-on-ones, to move the gamers, to make profitable crosses into the field, who will rating their possibilities.”

🗣️ “He’s obtainable for this recreation”

🎥 @HullCity’s Sergej Jakirovic with an replace on John Egan who got here off at half-time vs Norwich PLUS a basic squad replace for playoff 1st leg with Millwall.

🎧 Full interview to come back quickly 👉🏻 https://t.co/wb97IPn0Qe#hcafc | @RadioHumberside pic.twitter.com/3eDAHUcn5o

— BBC Humberside Sport (@HumbersideSport) Might 6, 2026

🗣️ “Yeah he’s speaking to me this week”

📽️ WATCH: @HullCity‘s Kyle Joseph says there’s no household feud as they tackle a @MillwallFC workforce his dad’s been a lifelong supporter of.

🎧 Full pre-match interview 👉 https://t.co/JN5vEDgNW4#hcafc | @RadioHumberside | @BBCLondonSport pic.twitter.com/693D5dcbjE

— BBC Humberside Sport (@HumbersideSport) Might 7, 2026

Hull’s Lewis Coyle mentioned, per Sky Sports activities: “I used to be a younger boy – I name it ‘the golden period’, when Hull had that first success at Wembley. That’s the stuff I dreamed of with the ability to do as a participant myself.

“I look again with fond reminiscences. It’s nice for the town, it’s nice for everybody concerned on the membership and it’s now time for me to place my stamp on issues and actually try to make it occur.

“It means every thing to be membership captain. It’s one thing I’m very, very happy with. I don’t take it with no consideration. I do know {that a} soccer profession could be very brief and this can all be over sometime.

“To have the ability to proudly say I’m the membership captain of my hometown membership, it might simply make it that bit sweeter if we go on and obtain that final dream of getting this membership again to the Premier League.

“In a nutshell, that will do for me. It might be past my wildest desires, and if I can preserve a little bit promise I made to somebody a very long time in the past, it might make me very, very completely happy.”

👏 We want the followers’ backing!

Watch the gaffer’s preview forward of Friday evening on Millwall TV+ now. pic.twitter.com/PUoJvcp8c8

— Millwall FC (@MillwallFC) Might 6, 2026

Millwall’s Alex Neil advised Sky Sports activities:

“Play-off video games are completely different as a result of they’re primarily knockout matches. We’ve acquired two legs to try to get the outcome we’d like.

“Our away type has been the very best within the division, so we’re hoping to get a constructive outcome within the first leg after which carry it again to The Den. The important thing factor is ensuring the event doesn’t get the higher of you, that shall be essential for each groups.

“I feel the largest distinction is that we now play with out concern. I solely had half a season final 12 months, however even then our away type within the second half of the marketing campaign was fairly good.

“This 12 months we’ve had a full season taking part in that approach. Whether or not we’re house or away, we strategy video games the identical approach. There’s no main change in type relying on the venue, and that consistency has helped us decide up some good away outcomes.

“We’ve managed that nicely all through the top of the season. Once you’re in a robust place, naturally there’s extra expectation and scrutiny on each the workforce and myself. However I feel we’ve dealt with that higher and higher because the season has gone on.

“We’ve had huge away video games at Middlesbrough and Ipswich and dealt with them brilliantly. We then had video games we completely wanted to win, like QPR and Stoke.

“Leicester was most likely the one disappointment in the direction of the top of the season, however then we nonetheless had a job to do in opposition to Oxford and we managed that too. From our perspective, we’ve acquired nothing to lose. It’s about attacking each recreation and giving our greatest, simply as we’ve completed all season.”

Millwall’s Tristan Crama mentioned to Sky Sports activities: “We all know it’s two video games, however we’re simply specializing in Friday first. We had such a superb report away this season, so we’re going there to assault the sport and win it. Clearly, it would solely be midway by it, however I’m not going to consider Monday first. I simply take into consideration Friday.

“We’re simply going to go there to assault and win it. We’re not going there to try to maintain a rating. We did that each one season, and we acquired the very best away report. I’m going there to win the sport.

“Each recreation is completely different, however [winning 3-1 at Hull in March] simply means you go in there and you recognize you possibly can beat them since you already did it.

“It’s completely different now as a result of it’s the play-offs, so I suppose the ambiance on the stadium shall be completely different as nicely. I’m trying ahead to it.

“The mentality within the squad is superb. We’re not getting too low, we’re not getting too excessive, so we nonetheless have the identical mindset that we’re going to assault the sport like we attacked the earlier 46 video games.”

–

Middlesbrough head coach Kim Hellberg mentioned in his press convention, per Sky Sports activities: “You need to do it in a little bit little bit of a unique approach.

“One of the simplest ways to say it’s it’s the primary half of a recreation. That’s the easy approach of claiming it, however it additionally means issues.

“If it’s 10 minutes left and you might be one up or one behind, it’s not the identical factor as having 10 minutes left in an everyday recreation, the place you throw every thing in several instructions, relying on the rating.

“That’s the factor you want to concentrate on. It’s not a recreation that shall be selected Saturday as we’ll play 90 minutes extra, then possibly extra-time on Tuesday.

“After which it’s completely different taking part in in opposition to a workforce on Saturday after which the identical workforce on the Tuesday. Solely within the play-offs are you able to get to these varieties of video games, the place you play the identical workforce so shortly after the primary recreation.”

Southampton head coach Tonda Eckert: “They’ve been fairly clear in the way in which they strategy the sport. It’s fairly clear to see the place they’ve their strengths.

“In the event that they catch a superb day and so they begin to movement, they’re a superb workforce in sure facets of the sport.

“[But] we come from some good weeks and months. Ultimately it’s about getting our strengths on the pitch like we now have been doing for a lot of weeks now.”

Eckert insists his facet gained’t be taking part in for a draw, with the 2nd leg at St Mary’s: “No, that isn’t the way in which we strategy video games.

“At no a part of the season has that ever been our strategy, to attract a recreation. We’ll go there to win.

“We’ll do every thing to win, after which we’ll see the place we stand.”