Sergej Jakirovic looks set to become the new Hull City head coach after lengthy talks with owner Acun Ilicali in recent days, and 12 months on from Tim Walter, it’s another major call.
And in all probability, it’s his biggest decision yet (since sacking Liam Rosenior), and he really needs it to work. For the past 12 months, City have floundered since the sudden departure of their former right-back.
Ilicali’s decision-making has been called into question numerous times in the past year. Many fans remain unconvinced that the Turkish businessman is getting it right. Results on the pitch over the past three years or so would fit that narrative, as would the debts that are racking up in the pursuit of Premier League football.
In truth, returning to the top-flight eight years after their last relegation is a long, long way away and in appointing the Bosnian, Ilicali will pray this one works, because he needs it to.
On the face of it, the 48-year-old is another major risk at a time when many will feel City needs perhaps a tried-and-tested method. Some will say Ilicali should have played it safe and gone with a manager who knows the Championship and has a proven track record in one of the world’s most competitive leagues.
Others will point to managers who have come in from abroad with no experience of English football, let alone the second tier and mastered it. Daniel Farke, David Wagner and just last weekend, Regis Le Bris at Sunderland, to name just three. Having experience of the Championship is not a prerequisite for success, of course it isn’t, but at their current juncture, perhaps that would have been sensible. The caveat is that every appointment is a risk, and nobody really knows how it will work out. The Tigers, though, desperately need it to work on so many levels.
Jakirovic has had success elsewhere, and he will need to call on that impact at previous clubs to make it at City. It’s a big chance for him to announce himself in English football and show what he’s made of. He’s clearly a driven individual and one intent on bettering his career, which is admirable. If he can leave the MKM Stadium in better shape than when he arrived, that will be a positive. In Championship terms, it can’t be any lower than staying up on goal difference.
City fans are a tad nervous because of the fiasco surrounding Walter. The damage his short-lived tenure did has been felt long after his departure in December, and because of that, there’s a degree of scepticism, and potentially, in the dressing room, too.
In fairness, Ilicali’s appointments haven’t been as bad as they appear on the surface. Shota Arveladze was a naive error when Grant McCann should have been given until the end of that season to allow the new owner time to get his feet under the table. Rosenior was excellent, and in Ruben Selles, City snapped up a highly-respected manager. Walter is the one who stands out as being a disaster, and naturally, there’s a fair amount of caution with this latest appointment, and rightly so.
Others wanted the job, but it’s the Bosnian who has been given the chance to take over and deliver Ilicali’s dream of getting City to the top-flight.
Ilicali has paid a lot of money to get Jakirovic, both in terms of compensation to Kayserispor and the manager’s salary, along with his three-strong backroom staff, and he’s taken a risk.
It’s a gamble that he believes is calculated, and worth taking. Jakirovic averages almost two points per game throughout his managerial career, and is known for a style of play that gets results. At Dinamo Zagreb, he enjoyed success where the expectations are huge. In Turkey, he guided Kayserispor well away from danger and was loved. The reaction from their supporters to news of his departure for England’s eastern flank has not gone down well, which is often a fair reflection of how a manager is viewed.
City were a shambles last season, and that cannot be the case again. If it is, they’ll be relegated and the owner will be lambasted, maybe even driven out of town. He used his ‘Get Out of Jail’ free card at Fratton Park, and he won’t be able to call upon it again.
Jakirovic has no choice but to come in and hit the ground running. He has to get results from the get-go, and he will need backing. Having that backing has been crucial to his success at other clubs, and he’ll need it at the MKM Stadium. Let’s not forget that the existing squad avoided relegation because Luton Town were slightly more inept. Mitigating factors are valid, but the league table is there for all to see.
Giving him the players will be absolutely crucial. If that doesn’t happen, Jakirovic’s average of a year at each club might well be tested. And for Ilicali, the fan angst will only grow.
If getting it right post-Rosenior was huge, then this has gone up a level and for the owner, this appointment simply cannot go wrong for so many reasons.
The former Zagreb chief will arrive with the backing of supporters who will back him to the hilt, but he must take them with him and not repeat the failures – and arrogance – of Walter 12 months ago if he’s to get off on the right footing.