City still have an outside chance of getting themselves back inside the top six
Sergej Jakirovic applauds the Hull City fans at The Valley on Saturday(Image: Sean Troup/Shutterstock)
Hull City head coach Sergej Jakirovic admits he understands the frustrations of supporters after watching his side suffer a damaging defeat in their play-off quest at Charlton Athletic on Saturday.
Attention now turns to the season finale against Norwich City, with the Tigers knowing they need a result to stand any chance of ensuring they finish the season inside the top six, and their dreams of promotion still alive.
Their task has been made slightly easier with Wrexham losing at Coventry City, so both teams are going into the game level on points, but he knows his side must keep their part of the bargain.
Four wins in 16 games have seen them go from looking like play-off certainties to one that could yet finish the campaign eighth, which would have been unthinkable a month ago.
That result on Saturday saw some jeers from a section of City‘s travelling support at The Valley, who were left frustrated at their side’s poor display.
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“I understand the fans’ (frustrations),” he said. “Thank you for their support. There were a lot of numbers and we heard them. Like every season, all season they are behind us. Of course it’s frustrating, but we are frustrated as well. Nobody’s frustrated more than me. It’s very simple, we’re going forward.”
Jakirovic has a job to pick up his players after a sixth game without victory, though he says nothing but a victory against the Canaries will suffice, and he wants a spirited display from his players.
“I will do my job like always, this is my job, and then I will choose the right players in this moment because we have a lot of problems, especially in the midfield; we don’t have options. We put Paddy (McNair) in after Matazo got his injury,” he continued.
“We have to win the last game at home at least because of us, because of the club, because of the fans. We have to do everything to win this game. For me, it’s unbelievable that we cannot win one game in this part of the season.
“First, we will have a good recovery, then we will have one game, and then we will do everything to win this game, no matter what. I watched the Leicester vs Millwall game (on Friday night), and I see how Leicester is running, fighting, they tried to do everything, and they’re already relegated. We are professionals, so we have to do everything to win the game.”
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