Hull City 3-3 Ipswich Town: Terry Hunt on promotion race

The maths are simple. A win and a draw in our last two matches and we can look forward to Man City, Arsenal, Liverpool and Man Utd coming to Portman Road next season.

We now face two teams with nothing to play for, so surely it’s in the bag? Surely this is our time? How I wish it was that simple, that certain. Just remember this is the crazy Championship, otherwise known as tales of the unexpected.

There are three possible scenarios awaiting us. The first, and by far the best, is that we beat Coventry on Tuesday night, leaving us only needing a draw against effectively relegated Huddersfield next Saturday.

Kieran McKenna's men need four points from their last two games to win promotion (Image: Ross Halls)
Scenario two, still good, is a draw at Coventry, meaning we would need to beat Huddersfield to make sure. I’m confident we would do that.

The third, nightmare scenario is that we lose at Coventry. That would condemn us to an agonising afternoon on Saturday when we are not only watching our game but also desperately checking on Leeds.

It would hand the initiative to the Yorkshire club, and fire them up when they take on Southampton, whose form has fallen off a cliff in recent weeks. So, we must not lose at Coventry. Simple as that.

We’ve been here before. In May 2000, when David Johnson put us ahead against effectively relegated Walsall on the final day, and Man City were losing, it looked like we were on our way straight to the Premier League. But City eventually won their game and it was play-offs for us. That ended ok, though!

The two weekend games which created our situation were both extraordinary. Leeds getting thumped at QPR on Friday night opened the door for us, and we made sure things remain in our hands in that thrilling draw at Hull.

I know we all felt huge disappointment that we couldn’t hold on at the end - especially because it was such a poor goal to concede - but a draw at a very fired-up Hull was a very good result.

Omari Hutchinson has been brilliant for Town (Image: PA Images)
Lots of pluses and minuses from that game. Omari Hutchinson once again showed what a talent he is. Of course his two brilliant goals were the highlights, but his overall game was also hugely impressive.

It was great to see George Hirst and Wes Burns back in action,although surprising to see them both starting. It paid off, though, with Hirst turning in Burns’ cross for the first goal of the game.

The big negative was our inability to hold the lead. All three Hull goals were definitely avoidable, with Vaclav Hladky culpable for two of them. It was a little bit shocking to see Kieran McKenna thumping the side of the dugout in frustration. First time we’ve seen that.

Inevitably, Hladky has been on the end of some criticism, but let’s remember how often he’s saved us this season, including in our previous game against Middlesbrough. The ups and downs of being a keeper.

Vaclav Hladky has been criticised for two of Hull's goals - but he's also made some huge stops this season (Image: Ross Halls)
There was also the worrying sight of Leif Davis limping off. It would be a huge blow if he missed the last games. He is so important to the way we play.

There was a certain irony in the fact that our result at Hull has effectively handed our nearest and dearest neighbours Norwich a play-off place. I hope they’re grateful, because every time we’ve hoped for a favour from them this season they’ve let us down!

So we go into the final week after an absolutely incredible season. Do you remember our very first game back in the Championship? Away at Sunderland, when they absolutely played us off the park for the first 20 minutes. At that point, I was thinking this would be a long, difficult season. How very, very wrong was that!

This week will undoubtedly be very nervy. But it’s still in our hands. We just need to do our jobs and we will achieve our dream - a return to the Premier League after 23 often painful, frustrating seasons.

By the time I write my next column we will know. I have no doubt there will be twists, turns and drama. But I know we can do it. Try to stay calm...