Ruben Selles says Acun Ilicali has been nothing but supportive of his tenure at Hull City after the head coach guided the Tigers to Championship safety. Saturday’s 1-1 draw at Portsmouth brought the the curtain down on a largely forgettable season at the MKM Stadium.
Selles’ side picked up a precious point at Fratton Park – a result that was enough to secure survival, despite starting the final day of the campaign inside the bottom three after Luton Town were thrashed at West Brom.
Ilicali, along with sporting director Jared Dublin, will now conduct a thorough review of the season and put together a plan of attack for the summer, which includes looking at the performance of Selles since he arrived in December from Reading and deciding whether he’s the man to lead the club forward.
The Turkish businessman is keen to crack on with adding to the squad in the coming weeks to ensure City do not find themselves in a similar situation next term.
Selles says he appreciates Ilicali’s backing in the January transfer window with the likes of John Egan, Matt Crooks and Joe Gelhardt making key contributions to the Tigers’ survival. City also invested significant finances into signing Louie Barry on loan from Aston Villa and Eliot Matazo on a permanent deal from Monaco, but both collected season-ending injuries early in their Tigers careers.
“Well, from my very first day, he [Ilicali] has been very supportive of what we do. In the transfer window – in the first transfer window that I had with the club, he tried to provide us with some tools,” Selles said.
“Two of the main ones were injured quite early and, to be honest with you, he has always been very supportive of me and with the things that we do.
“We talk about everything, and the main thing is that he likes and supports the way that I do things, or that’s what he tells me, and I think his integrity is not in question, so I think he needs to do what he has been doing, trying to support the club, trying to support us with the best tools and then being himself.”