A turning point?

There is a sense that two of our last three games - the 2-1 defeat of Hamburg and the 2-1 win at Everton (either side of a rather shaky 4-2 win over WBA) could represent a turning point in the Hughes era. Richard Dunne certainly seems to think so:

"Possibly it took the Hamburg game at home for us to realise that [we are a good side] because they are a really good side and we battered them on the night. Confidence has grown since then and when we compare ourselves with Everton, we are not too far short of a top six side.

"They have had the stability that we haven't had in terms of managers. David Moyes has had some stick at times and the odd bad season but they have stuck by him and progressed massively. For us to move forward we need that stability and time to build a squad with depth.

"The manager's signings in January all strengthened the side. He wants time and he deserves it. I am sure we will supplement the squad in the summer with more top players and become an even stronger squad. Hopefully we can do next season what Everton and Villa did this season and maybe even take it a bit further."

"Winning at Everton was the boost that everyone needed, we were determined not to just let the season peter out and have pointless games," he stressed. We want to claim the seventh place and get back into Europe and the win at Goodison put us closer to that. We were pleased to play well and get the three points but the best thing of all was that it was a real team performance. Everyone worked really hard. No-one has ever doubted our skill on the ball but once you put the work rate with it we are a really good side."