The Tigers are having a stellar campaign and continue to surprise many
Charlie Hughes and Yu Hirakawa celebrate the win over Swansea City(Image: Alfie Cosgrove/News Images)
Sergej Jakirovic believes there’s no reason why Hull City’s supporters cannot dream of ending their Premier League exile, and he’s absolutely right.
If you can’t dream in football, what’s the point? It’s a game littered with stress, struggle and worry. For most teams outside of the elite, it’s weekly torture filled with ups and downs. If you can’t ride the highs after suffering the lows, why do we bother?
Since relegation from the top flight in May 2017, City’s fans have had little to cheer. Even the League One title win was played against the backdrop of a humiliating relegation the season before, which was hit by Covid, and they weren’t there to see it.
Since returning to the Championship, the only season of relative success was under Liam Rosenior, and then the Tigers missed out on the top six in the final weeks of the campaign.
This term, the Tigers are fourth and level on points with an Ipswich Town side that were in the big league last season, and have spent millions. They’ve won seven of their last nine, including three in the past week.
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After 28 games, City are there on merit and have a play-off place firmly in their own hands. They’re only five points off the top two, with a game in hand to come against Watford next month. There’s also another game in hand to come against the Tractor Boys at Portman Road later in the season, because of the pair’s involvement in the FA Cup.
Under Liam Rosenior, there was a pressure felt, an expectation. Promotion was the target at the start of the season, and Rosenior, along with owner Acun Ilicali and then vice-chairman Tan Kesler, made no secret of that ambition. The squad was expensively assembled, with big players like Liam Delap, Jaden Philogene and Tyler Morton joining Jean Michael Seri and Jacob Greaves. Big money was spent on Ruben Vinagre, Ryan Giles, Anass Zaroury and Fabio Carvalho.
The pressure was too much; Rosenior’s side failed to deliver. Two years on, there’s a freedom about Jakirovic’s squad. Expectations were different at the start of the campaign, after last season’s struggles, coupled with the well-documented transfer restrictions.
Jakirovic is happy to talk about promotion; he wants to embrace it. Under Rosenior, play-off talk was played down in the latter stages of the season, and the external hype and expectation became a problem in the manager’s office; it became a real problem and swallowed them up. There’s a marked difference in approaches and it gives the players greater wriggle room.
City are the dark horses. The Tigers and Millwall continue to surprise many, but the Tigers’ form all season has been consistent, and they deserve to be where they are.
Who knows what will happen in the remaining weeks, but Jakirovic, his staff and the players have fostered themselves a stunning opportunity, and one they must continue to embrace,
It’s one they should relish, walk straight into and be excited about. If you can’t revel in such an opportunity, and one you’ve worked so hard for, then what’s the point? Few expected City to be in this position, and they should embrace it.
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