Hull City head coach praised his players for their deserved 2-0 win over Manchester United, to mark their return to the Premier League in style.
First-half goals from defenders Semi Ajayi and debutant Nobel Mendy gave City a commanding lead at the break.
Rarely in the second half were City troubled by a blunt United attack, which included Benjamin Sesko and Marcus Rashford off the bench, and were beaten for the first time in the Premier League by the Tigers, in front of a jubilant sell-out crowd.
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“I’m feeling excellent, and I’m very happy because of how our players put everything on the pitch today,” Jakirovic told Hull Live.
“Everything that we agreed on in the meeting this week, everything that we tried to practice went as planned, and this is the result in the end. I’m very, very pleased with them.”
Jakirovic says the players and staff had a plan of attack for United from set-pieces, and it worked a treat with both goals coming from a corner and a free-kick.
“We tried something on Friday, so we had some plan there to try to punish them, how they’re standing, especially on the wide free kicks to make some blocks there, and then we saw Nobel and Semi score.”
Home form is always so crucial for newly promoted teams, and for City to get a huge win to kick off their season, it sets them up well for the visit of Aston Villa in a couple of weeks.
“It’s a big boost for us for the future,” the Croatian continued. “I spoke last week about the possibility that we can win.
“This is maybe the key because I have to convince my players that we are capable of playing at this level. We showed last season that we are strong, very mentally strong, and that we can compete against everyone. Maybe this is the key, and they showed it today on the pitch.”
Jakirovic added that Ajayi, Mendy and Coyle will all be assessed in the next 24 hours after the trio were forced off in the second half with injuries and are now doubts for Tuesday’s Carabao Cup tie at Championship side Stoke City.
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