Jamie nearly joined Hull

CHRIS LAKEY

Canaries hot shot Jamie Cureton has revealed just how close he came to lining up AGAINST the Canaries this afternoon.

City's golden goal machine was actually in talks with Hull and on the verge of a summer transfer when his mobile phone rang - on the other end was City's Bryan Gunn, ready to make him and offer that he couldn't refuse.

“I was very close - we had held talks,” explained Cureton. “I was up there chatting away, basically we had agreed a contract and I was going to give it a day or so to mull it over and funnily enough while I was up there I received a phone call from Mr Gunn - while I was sitting at Hull!

“That made me want to come down and talk - so, yes, it was pretty close.”

Hull's loss is City's gain, with Cureton firing in four goals in his two appearances this season.

“I am sure Phil Brown won't be too pleased if I score as well and I am sure his chairman up there won't.

“Obviously I felt pleased they came in for me and gave me an option to go up there, but this was probably just too good to turn down.”

The 31-year-old Cureton is expecting a hot reception at the KC Stadium this afternoon - and not just from the home fans. Lining up at the heart of the Tigers defence will be the imposing six foot, 12½-stone frame of Wayne Brown, a team-mate at Colchester last season.

“I spoke to him the other day,” said Cureton. “He told me to calm down and stop scoring, but I'm sure he is going to be kicking me everywhere to be honest - he didn't mind doing it in training at Colchester so I am sure he is going to do it again.

“I am not really a kicking type - as long as I score I will be pleased, but it will be a tough battle, he's a decent player and they have a decent squad up there now, but we go up there full of confidence and we feel we can go up there and win.”

Should Cureton need protection he only has to call on the big man in City's little and large pairing, Chris Brown.

Brown has taken the knocks this season, including a broken nose, and is making the blood shirt his own - and Cureton is grateful.

“He is one of those strikers that puts himself about and works very hard for the team, very unselfish,” he said. “I have been very pleased playing up front with him. It has worked, he is the type of striker I enjoy playing off and he deserves his credit.

“Because of his size and his presence they get attracted more to the bigger, physical type than me and it tends to give me a bit more space and that's what I have always worked off. If I play with target men it helps, as most small strikers will tell you. It does help and I do appreciate what he does.”

City go to Hull are defending a three-match unbeaten run - one short of Grant's best since he took charge last October - after an opening day draw at Preston and the 2-1 home win over Southampton, which sandwiched the 5-2 Carling Cup hammering of Barnet.

While all three performances have been short on sustained quality, Cureton believes points, especially away from home, have to be the priority.

“Maybe sometimes away from home it doesn't matter as long as you get the results,” he said. “At the end of the season if we have enough results to get ourselves up people aren't going to be too bothered about how we played at Hull. They will worry on the day and we might get stick if we haven't performed, but I think if we get a result, as in not getting beat up there, it is another point or three points towards what we want to achieve.

“But we will try to go up there and perform - we want to entertain people and want to play well, but we know that sometimes that doesn't always get you results. I think first and foremost it is about not getting beat - and if we can then put the performance with that, then all the better.

“We are not getting it right at the moment - we are playing well in patches and not in others, but we are not getting beat. If we can keep that going I am sure that once we hit 10 games things will start settling down and we will perform for more of the 90 than we are at the moment.”