HULL City striker Fraizer Campbell's holiday plans will have to be put on hold if Ipswich Town defender Danny Simpson has anything to with it.The duo are long-standing good friends from their time growing up at Manchester United, and on loan at Royal Antwerp, but will find themselves as opponents on Sudden-Death Sunday.

Derek Davis

HULL City striker Fraizer Campbell's holiday plans will have to be put on hold if Ipswich Town defender Danny Simpson has anything to with it.

The duo are long-standing good friends from their time growing up at Manchester United, and on loan at Royal Antwerp, but will find themselves as opponents on Sudden-Death Sunday.

Town need to win to stand a chance of finishing in the top six, while City need all three points, and hope Stoke City lose at home to Leicester City, to go up automatically with West Brom.

Campbell, with 15 goals on loan from Manchester United to Hull, has been enjoying good banter with Simpson this week but both know it will get serious come 2pm Sunday.

Simpson said: “We are very good friends. We speak to each virtually every other day and as you can imagine the texts have been flying between us.

“I've told him I'm going to go straight through him and he said I had to get near him first.

“It is all good banter and we are both looking forward to the game. He is staying down after. We are planning to go on holiday together for five or six days, but he is going to have to wait until June because I'm going to try and make sure they will be in the play-offs with us.

“Then he can wait for me to finish in the final before we go away.”

The duo were at Royal Antwerp together last year before Simpson returned to go on loan with Sunderland in the January and helped them win automatic promotion to the Premier League.

He knows all about Campbell's strengths and weaknesses.

Simpson said: “We have got reports on all their players and will go through them.

“Fraizer is a big threat but I will be telling Alex, Jason and David all about him and how to stop him.

“They also have Dean Windass who can be a big handful.”

While looking to stop him this weekend both could be team-mates in Sir Alex Ferguson's side next season and Simpson is convinced Campbell, who has been called into the England under 21s for a second time, can make the breakthrough.

He said: “Fraizer is a very good player and scores plenty of goals. I'm sure if he had a regular run at Old Trafford he would do very well. But you know the players Manchester United have and for young players like ourselves it tends to be 20 minutes here or there and as a striker it is not always enough and they are judged on goals.”

Simpson has started every game for the Blues since making his debut as a sub at Scunthorpe following his loan switch from Old Trafford in March and believes if the team, and he, can play as they are capable of then they can take all three points and hope that Watford or Crystal Palace slip up along with Wolves and Sheffield United.

Simpson said: “I have well enjoyed it since I have been here. It is a big game on Sunday and I'm really hoping it is not the last one of the season here for me.

“We have played some really good football at times and if we play more of that on Sunday then I'm convinced we will get the three points.”

And that will mean the beach can wait for another few weeks.