Oli McBurnie reacts to new twist in Southampton, Middlesbrough Spygate scandal | OneFootball

The Hull City forward is currently preparing for a Wembley appearance of his own

Hull City's journey to the Championship play-off final at Wembley Stadium has been full of drama and chaos in recent weeks, but now even more has been added beyond the Tigers' control.

Last month, City endured a seven-game winless streak before returning to the second tier's play-off places on the final day of the regular season through a comeback victory over Norwich City, with Oli McBurnie in the double in the process.

This set up an intriguing play-off semi-final with Millwall over two legs, in which Jakirovic's team emerged as unexpected victors at The Den and on aggregate as a result, with Mohamed Belloumi and Joe Gelhardt's late strikes in front of the travelling supporters proving decisive.

It seemed as though City's fifth-ever trip to Wembley would come against Southampton, who were only at the national stadium three weeks ago for an FA Cup semi-final loss against eventual winners, Manchester City.

Despite a 'spygate' saga kickstarting between Saints and Middlesbrough prior to the first leg of their own semi-final at the Riverside Stadium, which led to an initial charge coming the way of the South Coast outfit, Tonda Eckert's men won 2-1 at St Mary's and on aggregate.

However, after initial jeopardy surfaced over a 'planned' 4:30PM kick-off time for Saturday, May 23rd, whilst tickets had been released by both Hull and Southampton, an independent disciplinary commission has since expelled Saints from the post-season competition, leading Boro to be reinstated, although a kick-off time is now, again, up in the air due to a subsequent appeal process.

That said, McBurnie has emerged as a cult figure in East Yorkshire after a fine first season, and the forward has only added to those feelings with his reaction to the seismic twist.

How Oli McBurnie reacted to Southampton, Middlesbrough play-off final change impacting Hull City

The 29-year-old has been an influential figurehead in Jakirovic's team, scoring 17 times and providing eight more assists across the Championship season after signing on a free transfer last August.

Unsurprisingly, such form has led to a clamour for the Leeds-born man to return to the Scotland squad for the upcoming FIFA World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

However, on Tuesday, it was confirmed that he would remain absent from Steve Clarke's plans behind the likes of Charlton Athletic's Lyndon Dykes, George Hirst of Ipswich Town and Saints forward, Ross Stewart.

This wasn't the only major news impacting the imminent future of the striker, though, with those of a Hull persuasion learning that Kim Hellberg's side are now awaiting them in North London.

Taking to X shortly after confirmation of Saints' expulsion was released in a statement from the English Football League, McBurnie said: "Mad day all round! Nothing changes, we take what’s ours on Saturday!"

In a season where the Hull squad have earned mass praise for batting away several instances of on and off-field adversity, which now includes claims from Jakirovic that they are "collateral damage" in the spygate saga, a plethora of supporters have issued responses delighted with the striker's mentality.

Oli McBurnie's mass experience will be vital to Hull City's preparation ahead of Wembley final

Prior to the final day win over Norwich on May 2nd, McBurnie admitted that a rallying call organised by captain, Lewie Coyle, and his former Sheffield United teammate, John Egan, left him wanting to "headbutt a wall" as a result of the passion and energy which he felt afterwards.

Having won promotion at Bramall Lane, as well as boasting 96 appearances in the Premier League, the striker's experience is set to prove critical if City are to emerge victorious at Wembley for the third time in the Championship play-off final, having achieved the same feats against Bristol City and Sheffield Wednesday in 2008 and 2016 respectively.

There has been an argument that, in recent weeks, the forward was starved of high-quality service, but that could certainly change if the likes of Belloumi, Gelhardt and Liam Millar play to their maximum capacity behind him.