The Tigers’ head coach will revel in the role of being the Premier League’s underdog
Sergej Jakirovic will enjoy being written off by the national media over the next few months(Image: Paul ELLIS / AFP via Getty Images)
It’s barely 10 days since Hull City were winning promotion on the pitch at Wembley Stadium, and already, the Tigers are being written off by the national media.
Just as they were back in August, City have been backed to be relegated, though this time it’s from the Premier League and not the Championship.
Seconds after the full-time whistle, social media posts were already being written and condemning City to relegation, with many suggesting the Tigers would fail to beat Derby County’s record low points total of 11 in 2008, which stands to this day.
City, though, will of course embrace being written off and relish the challenge. If we learned one thing during the Championship season, it would be to write off the Tigers and Jakirovic at your peril. Of course, there’s significant work to do, but you wouldn’t back against them.
The Daily Mail, however, have done exactly that by ranking the Premier League managers from one to 20, with City’s promotion-winning boss propping up the rest before a ball has been kicked.
“I was at Wembley on Saturday and what a day out it was in the glorious sunshine as Hull completed one of the stories of the season to win the play-off final,” the Mail wrote. “They have an extremely likeable squad and their fanbase is excellent. Many tipped them for a relegation battle, yet the Bosnian led them to the Premier League, failing at his one objective, which was to keep them in the Championship!
“So why is Jakirovic bottom of this list? Simply because he still has a lot to prove. He certainly proved a lot of doubters wrong this season… now to go again.”
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Expect to see this list pinned somewhere on the dart board inside the players’ room at the club’s Cottingham training ground when they return to pre-season training in July…
Here’s the list, according to the Daily Mail…
1: Mikel Arteta – Arsenal
2: Unai Emery – Aston Villa
3: Andoni Iraola – Bournemouth – the Spaniard is leaving the Vitality Stadium this summer and expected to land at Liverpool.
4: Xabi Alonso – Chelsea
5: Arne Slot – Liverpool (now sacked)
6: Enzo Maresca – widely tipped to replace Pep Guardiola at Manchester City
7: Oliver Glasner – Crystal Palace – leaving Selhurst Park this summer
8: Roberto De Zerbi – Tottenham Hotspur
9: Eddie Howe – Newcastle United
10: David Moyes – Everton
11: Regis Le Bris – Sunderland
12: Fabian Hurzeler – Brighton and Hove Albion
13: Michael Carrick – Manchester United
14: Marco Silva – Fulham – expected to leave Craven Cottage this summer
15: Kieran McKenna – Ipswich Town
16: Keith Andrews – Brentford
17: Daniel Farke – Leeds United
18: Frank Lamprd – Coventry City
19: Vitor Pereira – Nottingham Forest
20: Sergej Jakirovic – Hull City
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