The Tigers are perched near the top of the Championship’s Christmas tree
Saturday’s gritty 1-0 win over West Brom ensured Hull City would spend Christmas safely tucked up inside the Championship’s top six, after notching an 11th win of the season.
Sergej Jakirovic’s side have now won half of their 22 games and are just one shy of the 12 they managed in the entirety of last term, which could well come on Boxing Day at bottom side Sheffield Wednesday.
Crucially, the Tigers have started to create something of a gap between themselves and the chasing pack for the first time this season, having clocked up three wins in a row since losing at home to Middlesbrough.
The Tigers have put a nine-point gap between themselves and Albion, while there’s six between themselves and two of last season’s relegated Premier League sides, Southampton and Leicester City.
Had you said that the Tigers would be six points above those two clubs at the start of the season, many would have suggested a trip to see the doctor.
It’s another example of the terrific job Sergej Jakirovic has done since arriving in the summer, and there’s little doubt he’s the manager of the season as we reach the halfway point of the campaign, given what he inherited.
Of course, sitting fourth at Christmas wins you no extra points or assures you of a place in the Premier League; however, it does show that City are going well and have every reason to look forward to the second half of the campaign rather than the fear and trepidation of 12 months ago.
City are only seven goals behind last season’s measly total of 44, and another 13 points would see them surpass the 49 that took them 46 games to reach on the final day. Three players (Oli McBurnie and Joe Gelhardt, 10, Kyle Joseph, 6) have already matched or surpassed last season’s top goalscorer, Joao Pedro (6).
The season before, Liam Rosenior’s side were sixth after 22 games with 36 points, and that’s where they’d remain at Christmas, having lost at Bristol City in their final outing before the big day.
Jakirovic’s men notched a seventh home win against the Baggies, and it took until the final stages of the season for Rosenior’s side to claim an eighth MKM Stadium victory, which is another sign that this Tigers outfit could eclipse what was achieved in 2023/24.
It’s been a tremendous start to the new season, and now nobody can take that away from City and boss Jakirovic. The challenge now is to keep that momentum going, because their impressive start is just that. It’s now about turning it into something special in the second half of the season, but there’s no reason they can’t do just that.
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