Ryan Giles cannot wait to experience Turkey as a Hull City promotion winner, as the Tigers prepare to spend a long weekend in Istanbul.
More than seven million people are thought to have watched City’s Championship play-off win over Middlesbrough, with owner Acun Ilicali revealing just how popular the Tigers’ success was in his home country.
City, of course, are no strangers to being out in Turkey, where they have become hugely popular, but this will be their first time back as a Premier League club.
Sergej Jakirovic’s Tigers arrived in the city on Wednesday night and enjoyed a luxury boat party along the Bosphorus in the evening, hosted by Ilicali and principal sponsors Corendon Airlines. The Tigers will train at Kasimpasa’s training centre before playing the Super Lig side at the Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Stadium on Saturday in their final outing of their two-week European adventure.
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For Giles, it will be another chance to impress Jakirovic with Matt Targett edging closer to fitness and being able to stake his own claim for a starting berth against Manchester United.
Trips to Turkey are often filled with surprises, and for City’s Premier League heroes, this will be no different, and it’s something Giles cannot wait to experience.
“I can imagine it’s gonna be a bit of madness, but I think it’s brilliant,” the defender tells HullLive. “It’ll be exciting, I’m always grateful every time I’ve been to Turkey, we’ve been well looked after as well.
“I’d say I’m excited for it, and we’ve got a game out there as well, so we’ll do whatever we need to do for Mr Chairman, but also we’ve got a game to win as well, that’s how I’ll ultimately see it.”
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