The Tigers head coach has detailed the players’ plan for Christmas week leading into the Boxing Day trip to Hillsborough
Hull City head coach Sergej Jakirovic says the Christmas period will be a chance to utilise his whole squad, with four games in just 10 busy days.
The Tigers go to Sheffield Wednesday on Boxing Day before heading to Teesside for a revenge mission against Middlesbrough to bring the curtain down on 2025. The New Year starts with home games against Stoke City and Watford at the MKM Stadium.
They’ll do so in terrific spirits after Oli McBurnie’s 10th goal of the season earned them a deserved 1-0 win over West Brom on Saturday, as they made it three wins on the spin against Ryan Mason’s Baggies to see them sitting fourth in the Championship.
It’s a period where tactics largely go out the window, and with so many games in a short period, it becomes a survival of the fittest, something the Croatian is excited about as he looks to maintain the Tigers’ strong start to the season, which reaches the halfway point on Friday.
“This is my first time, but it’s a tradition, you must respect that, and also I’m looking forward to it. I’m part of this, and we will see after Boxing Day,” he told Hull Live.
“Right now, sometimes I don’t have a feeling it’s December, it’s like October for me. We have a lot of games, and we will use a lot of players.
“Our plan is to rotate the players as much as we can because we need energy, we need freshness, and we also need the quality, so they will get a chance to perform.
“I agree completely. It’s not about tactics. We will see after Christmas, on the first day after Christmas, our conditions and also other teams. They are used to it in this rhythm, so I don’t have problems. I’m not playing, I’m just standing there. My staff and I will prepare everything like always, and we will see.”
A family man, Jakirovic will give the players Christmas Day off to spend with their families, before meeting up on Friday morning to travel to Sheffield together.
Jakirovic says spending the day with their families is important, and he believes it will help the players’ mentality, provided they go easy on the pigs in blankets.
“Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, we have training normally and then Christmas,” he explained. “The 25th it’s a day off for the players. They can spend the time with the family, which is normal for me, and then the next day we are travelling to Sheffield.
“They (the players) asked me, of course, yes, it’s my decision because in my opinion, you cannot train on Christmas Day. I think it’s better that you are with the family, that you are charging with positive energy, and I think everything will be good.”
Jakirovic will be surrounded by his family this Christmas, and he’ll be taking good care of the rest of his coaching staff, especially Marko Salatovic and Marin Ivancic, who joined him from Croatia, as he looks forward to his first taste of festive football in England.
“My family is coming, so we will be together for 10 days here. We will spend it like we were in Croatia together, maybe go to church here. And then, we will see, maybe we will go to York. I was there a couple of times, and it’s very nice.
“Marko’s (Salatovic) family are coming after Christmas, and Marin’s (Ivancic) family is already here. Marin has 3 children. They are still young, so they will be here, I think, until mid-January. We will all be together with our families.
“I watched so many games when I was not here on television, because just in England, I think, and now Italy, they are playing, so it’s always fun to watch these games. There are a lot of goals and fans with their Santa hats on. This is also very funny, but it’s tradition, and it’s a good experience for me for sure.”
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