Shota Arveladze outlines what Hull City must do to challenge for top-six next season

Shota Arveladze says his young Hull City side must learn how to stay in games if they are to challenge for a Championship play-off place next season. The Tigers currently sit 20th, 15 points above the drop zone and are all but mathematically safe from relegation.

Barnsley would need to win at least five of their final six matches and hope the Tigers fail to pick up a single point to stand any chance of leapfrogging Arveladze's side. This is after Hull City secured a vital 1-0 victory over Middlesbrough last time out thanks to Keane Lewis-Potter's second-half strike.

It was the third successive game in which the Tigers have faced a team chasing promotion this season. They suffered a 3-1 defeat against Luton Town in March, before being narrowly beaten by Huddersfield Town on April 1.

Acun Ilicali revealed in January that he expects the Tigers to be pushing for a return to the Premier League next season. With that in mind, Arveladze was quizzed on what he has learned from playing three sides in the play-off picture and how his side can replicate their success in 2022/23.

He said: "We had two good games (against Luton and Huddersfield) which we lost, of course we made a mistake which cost us and this is a league where when you make a mistake, you'll get punished. We're a young team and we will learn how to stay in the game.

"Many teams in the league have a bad start or a bad run, and then things change. They will then have a great run, winning five or six games in a row.

"One of the teams were unbeaten in 17 games, of course every team can then chase a play-off place. This league looks like everyone has a chance and this also makes it difficult to get every single point."

With five games to go, Hull City are in a good