Sergej Jakirovic and Nathan Jones enjoyed a post-match chat at the MKM Stadium following Hull City and Charlton Athletic’s 1-1 draw in the Championship on Saturday
Charlton Athletic manager Nathan Jones admits he’s been impressed with the job being done by Sergej Jakirovic and Hull City, and told him so after Saturday’s 1-1 draw.
City looked to be on course for a fourth straight league win courtesy of Joe Gelhardt’s fourth goal of the season and third in as many games, before substitutes James Bree and Luke Berry combined to snatch a dramatic 91st-minute equaliser.
Both clubs took seven points from the three-game week after the international break, and the pair are locked together on 19 points with the Addicks occupying the final play-off spot after 12 games.
Speaking to Hull Live at the MKM Stadium, the Valley boss said that he felt Jakirovic has been going well on the back of a turbulent summer and his first foray into English football.
“I think he’s doing a wonderful job,” Jones explained. “It’s a difficult place to manage this. It’s a difficult place to manage with the demands that this club has on managers, and I think he’s doing a wonderful job.
“I told him that after, and I wasn’t patronising or anything. I think he’s doing a wonderful job, and I think sometimes foreign managers come over here and see this is the second league, not the Premier League and get shocked by it, but I think he’s adapted very, very well.”
With a host of players unavailable through injury, and others carrying knocks from the previous two games, Jakirovic changed his shape and deployed a back three with two wing-backs, having moved away temporarily from his more favoured 4-2-3-1 setup.
While it was partly down to those fitness struggles, the Croatian admitted it was also designed to combat Charlton’s threats, something which was put to Jones as a possible sign of the impressive progress his side has made since promotion in May.
“Look, I have no idea why he did it, but if he did change for us, then yeah, it probably is (a mark of respect to the Addicks), but I don’t know if he did that,” the Welshman continued.
“He might have felt that the best way to win a football game, regardless of what the opposition does, so I don’t know. I can’t question why they changed, but if they did, then yeah, OK.
“Look, we do certain things, we do certain things well. We do certain things we know, we play our way, and try to impose ourselves. I think it’s more of a credit to us that we play our way in the Championship, having come up from a division below, and we’re comfortable enough to go after everyone and to go up against everyone in our shape.
“Sometimes we have to find solutions. We went a little bit more direct late on to try and get territory to give us an opportunity to score, but I’m just pleased with us.”
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