Clucas: Hull trip home from Palace was “horrible”

Any trip home after relegation is far from a comfortable experience, but Hull City’s return journey from Crystal Palace was one to forget for Sam Clucas.

The Tigers lost out at Selhurst Park last Sunday as their stay in the top flight ended after just one year, with memories of last year’s promotion triumph firmly forgotten.

That ensured a rather bleak 206-mile trip home for Clucas and co, with the midfielder’s first spell in the Premier League far from one that he’ll be cherishing in years to come – despite playing with Hereford United as recently as 2013.

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“We were all devastated after the game and the journey home was horrible,” said the 26-year-old.

“There was just silence really and the realisation that there is nothing we can do to change it now. Losing at home to Sunderland put us in a position where we knew we had to win our last two games of the season and we knew that was a difficult task with Crystal Palace and then Spurs to play.

“Unfortunately we saved our worst performance under Marco Silva for that Palace game. The away form has let us down all season and is one of the big reasons why we have been relegated.

“We didn’t do ourselves justice last Sunday, nor did we do the club or the supporters justice, in what was the biggest game of the season.

“It’s definitely the lowest point of my career. I’ve been at clubs that have been relegated before, but I wasn’t really involved week in, week out.

“This season I’ve played in nearly every game and I’ve been here for nearly two years now so know about all of the hard work that it took to get into the Premier League.”