City go into the weekend’s action four points off top spot and nine clear of the chasing play-off pack
Sergej Jakirovic in conversation with his coaching staff(Image: Martin Rickett/PA Wire)
Sergej Jakirovic says his Hull City side must be braver on the ball and take more risks – and that’s the message he’s given to his players ahead of Saturday’s meeting with Bristol City.
The Tigers’ head coach has been left frustrated at his side’s poor use of the ball in the past two games, seeing them give up large swathes of possession at Blackburn Rovers and again on Tuesday night in the goalless draw with Watford.
Jakirovic’s men got themselves into a stunning position, third in the table with 16 games to go, and he wants his players to enjoy the challenge and relish the opportunity in front of them.
While City have claimed successive clean sheets and four points from their last two outings, Jakirovic has not been impressed with the manner of those performances.
LISTEN: Dean Holden and Ivor Pandur preview the weekend visit of Bristol City
On each occasion, his side has continually given away the ball, and that’s resulted in them chasing much of the game, with them lacking any kind of control.
Though the Tigers sit third and are in the midst of their best Championship season in almost a decade, Jakirovic knows his side can be better and make their life an awful lot easier in games. That improvement, he hopes, will come when the Tigers host the Robins at the MKM Stadium on Saturday.
“We have a few spaces to improve our open play in possession, especially because our possession is too short,” he explained. “You cannot play with (the ball for) two, three or four seconds. You are spending a lot of energy, we’re kicking a lot of balls in front of Oli (McBurnie) and Joffo (Gelhardt). You don’t have a chance to win this ball.
“After 20 minutes there, there was a lot of time, a lot of space that we can play around, and we can play through them, but sometimes if they’re jumping out with two strikers on our centre backs, there is one extra man in the middle.
“We have our automation in how we play that sometimes, but we must be much, much better on the ball, brave, with a lot of confidence. There is no reason that we are under stress because you have 53 now, 54 points. You have to enjoy this moment and this journey. This is my message to my team.”
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