There will be no crowd as such. Even the one man and his dog who usually turn up for reserve games aren’t invited.

But this afternoon’s action behind closed doors at Hull’s training ground certainly matters for Stuart McCall – and for one player in particular.

The manager’s focus will be fixed on the City wing, where Omar Daley aims to take another few tentative steps on the long road to recovery.

After ten months out, any game is a big one for the Jamaican, who finally made his return last week against Oldham’s second string.

His 45-minute outing at Stalybridge Celtic was nothing out of the ordinary. A couple of darts down the flank and a shot into the side-netting before Daley headed for the dug-out.

But it was a mental barrier safely negotiated – and that was the real significance.

McCall knows exactly how Daley must be feeling. A knee injury once robbed him of 11 months of his career.

He is well aware that – even for someone with Daley’s electrifying pace – those faltering first steps are just as crucial as the big strides that everyone hopes the winger will soon be making.

McCall said: “We can’t expect too much from him too early. Every manner of Omar’s game needs working on because he has been out for so long.

“You don’t come back straight away. It just doesn’t work like that.

“Even when you’ve been out a couple of months before pre-season, it takes four or five games to get your sharpness back.

“Omar has been out for ten months so the rustiness is obviously evident.

“There will be things that he could do before that he won’t be able to at this moment in time. You think of Omar beating two or three players and it will take a while for him to be able to do that again.

“The one thing you must not do is feel down about yourself. When I was out with my knee it was frustrating not being able to do everything straight away.

“You do worry that you will never get back to the level you were at before. But if you do all the rehab and keep working hard then the pieces will hopefully fall back in to place.”

Not that McCall has any fears over Daley’s presence of mind. Within days of the injury, the player was talking defiantly of coming back even better than before.

McCall added: “Omar is mentally strong and there is no pain in his knee whatsoever. He’s a good kid who wants to do well and is totally focused on what he’s doing.

“He’s got the understanding to realise that he won’t be able to do everything in the first game back or the second. It will add up and add up every time he goes out there as he builds up his match fitness, sharpness and the technical side of the game.

“You can do all the running and gym work but Omar’s strengths are taking people on. That confidence to go past people will come and I’m sure he will be firing for us soon.

“Hopefully we’ll see the best of him in the coming months and he can come in and play a big part in the rest of the season.”