The Tigers have hit the headlines for the wrong reasons following a public bust-up between senior players Jimmy Bullard and Nick Barmby the day after their 5-1 thrashing by Everton last Sunday. The incident occurred in a park near the Humber Bridge following a warm-down session and boss Phil Brown was forced to make an embarrassing apology after it was witnessed by around 100 members of a Women's Institute. By contrast Arsenal have been the good-news team of the week after their commanding 5-0 victory over Porto on Tuesday fired them into the quarter-finals of the Champions League. Boateng, however, has forecast his side will take the game to the Gunners as they try to protect a proud home record that has seen them lose just once in their previous 10 games at the KC Stadium. "If anyone watched Arsenal play in midweek then you would have to say that if we were offered a draw before kick-off tomorrow then I think we'd take it," he said. "But at home we haven't played to draw, we have played to win matches. "We played really well against Manchester City when we won the match. We are going to go for a win against Arsenal and hopefully the result will take care of itself." Boateng said that the public spat between Bullard and Barmby would not distract the Tigers, insisting instead it proved their desire to help the club as they aim to stave off relegation. "I don't think it has disrupted us in any way because the lads are on speaking terms," he said. "We are all laughing and joking about it, so we are looking forward to Arsenal. "Normally when things like that happens it shows that players care, because it's about winning a match - it's not personal. If that was the case then you would start to worry, but it is about winning and losing. "We have this almost every day in training, but sometimes people go over the edge. It's not a big issue. "Hopefully we can show people that we are united and not divided."
