This post is part of Football League World’s ‘Terrace Talk’ series, which features personal comments from FLW Fan Pundits on breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings, and more.
Despite a crushing defeat to Middlesbrough, Hull City remain firmly in contention for promotion back to the Premier League.
After struggling for second-tier survival with Ruben Selles last season, there was little hope when an unknown quantity in the form of Sergej Jakirovic was recruited, but the Tigers have sprung to life under his leadership and are currently competing at the top of the table, which is a nice change.
It wasn’t a spectacular start to life under his leadership, with the team winning only one of their first five league games, but a resurgence happened when they went on to lose only one of their next nine matches from mid-September to the beginning of November.
While Hull have experienced a recent slide, with four defeats in their previous six games, there is hope that the club can recover at some point, and there is an incentive to do so given their proximity to the top six.
Despite Hull’s lack of consistency, Jakirovic has played a significant role in altering the Yorkshire club’s fortunes and inspiring fans to dream of a return to the Premier League for the first time since 2017.
Of course, when managers perform brilliantly in the Championship, Premier League clubs keep an eye on the division below to see if they can entice them away from their current roles to manage in the big leagues.
Over the coming months, as teams suffer at the bottom of the top-flight league, there may be some concern that Jakirovic could be persuaded to switch allegiances, which is feasible given his past clubs’ brief tenure.
With this in mind, FLW’s Hull City fan pundit has speculated on whether the 48-year-old may join a Premier League team this season.
Hull City concerned about Sergej Jakirovic’s long-term prospects
Speaking to Football League World, Hull City fan pundit Cameron Gibson acknowledged he wouldn’t be surprised if manager Sergej Jakirovic was connected with a potential Premier League position, but he hopes the Bosnian can demonstrate loyalty and stay at the MKM Stadium for the long term.
Cameron said: “I think as Hull City fans, you’ll always have it in the back of your mind, because we’re not one of the biggest clubs in the league, but we’re definitely a good-sized club with Premier League history, so if Sergej wants to get to the Premier League, he knows he can do so at our club.
“If a Premier League job were open, I wouldn’t be surprised if they looked at Sergej, but I believe he’ll finish the season. Looking back on his managerial history, he’s never stayed more than one or two seasons, so I’m hoping he can break that trend with Hull City and stay for an extended period of time.
“I believe he has exceeded everyone’s expectations. He has obviously above my expectations at the start of the season, and I was hopeful at the previous international break that we would sign him to a long-term contract, but that does not appear to be the case yet.
“But he doesn’t want to go, he doesn’t want to jump ship; he likes the group he’s developing, and after this season, he’ll have money to play with in the transfer market, whether it’s in the Championship or even the Premier League.
“But if Brentford, Burnley, Leeds, or someone like that were to fire their manager, they’d have to spend a lot of money, but even then, I don’t think it’d be worth it because he’s so excellent. He’s had such an impact on the club and team that we should do everything we can to keep him.
“We’ve given him the opportunity at the end of the day. At the start of the season, no one in the Championship had heard of him, and no one else hired him except us, so hopefully he’s loyal.”
Hull City shouldn’t be concerned about issues beyond their control.
When it comes to being a Championship team, the cruel nature of football means that a manager or player will want to move on to larger and better things in the top divisions, regardless of how long they have been with their current club.
A classic example this season has been Middlesbrough’s handling of Rob Edwards’ departure to Wolves, which was viewed as a questionable decision given that the West Midlands club is very likely to be relegated from the Premier League this season, while Boro have a strong chance of taking their place next May.
However, the temptation of the top flight and the opportunity to succeed in it is often too tempting to pass up, regardless of the club and team they inherit, so Hull fans should brace themselves for the worst if they find themselves near the top of the table in the coming weeks and months.
You’d hope Jakirovic would be loyal to the team that gave him his first break in England, but Tigers fans shouldn’t be surprised if he moves on, given his brief managerial stints elsewhere and the desire most have to manage in one of the world’s greatest divisions.
For the time being, Hull fans should just enjoy the ride of being in the promotion conversation, and cross that bridge if speculation about his future arises later.
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