Hull City’s owner told me I’ll be here for 10 years
In an exclusive interview, the Hull City head coach discusses his football philosophy, dealing with a transfer embargo and his friendship with Chris Wilder
There is not a manager in English football like Sergej Jakirovic.
For a start, there is his eclectic CV which spans across 25 clubs over three decades as a player and manager, zigzagging from World Cup qualifiers with his native Bosnia and Herzegovina to village football in Zagreb before landing in his current post as Hull City’s head coach.
But what really sets him apart? Jakirovic grew up in a war zone, his father’s family forced to flee their home town of Mostar to become refugees in Norway and Sweden.
He can vividly recall, as a 14-year-old, the shock of coming under attack from fighter planes.
“I was born in Mostar and there is an air base there. When I was 14 a plane was flying overhead and it dropped bombs from the sky,” he tells The i Paper, puffing out his cheeks as he recalls it.
“At first none of us realised what was happening, you have no idea. But then you start to run. You have no idea which direction to run in but you just run.
“From the ground they were shooting guns at the air and it was very, very dangerous. At first you don’t realise what has happened but later you start to stress about it, you realise you have to watch yourself in every moment.
“You really cannot imagine what war is like unless you live in it. Football might feel like life or death to many but in reality it is not.”
It is these experiences that perhaps explain why Jakirovic – in his own words – does not want to live life in a comfort zone and why a call from Hull chairman Acun Ilicali this summer felt like “destiny”.
Ilicali had just fired his fourth manager in two years and was drawn to Jakirovic after he led Turkish Super League club Kayserispor to a barely credible great escape from relegation last season that drew fulsome praise from Jose Mourinho, who hailed him as one of the best coaches in the country before a meeting with Fenerbahce.
That sense of jeopardy only increased when Hull were hit with a transfer ban for failing to pay transfer fees within a few days of Jakirovic being confirmed as manager.
“I always take a risk. I went to Turkey [to manage Kayserispor] and the situation was very similar,” he says.
“[We had] a transfer embargo and only 14 players for the first training session but we stayed up. It was a challenge and I like a challenge. I don’t like to be in my comfort zone, when you get out of your comfort zone good things happen.
“It was a shock two days after I arrived to find out about the transfer embargo but at least we could bring in free players and loan players.”
Pre-season favourites for relegation, Hull are building momentum under the likeable Jakirovic.
When The i Paper visits the club’s training ground in Cottingham at the start of the week, there is a buzz about the place that is night and day from the turmoil of the summer.
Training is sharp and intense, two small-sided games of attack versus defence intended to reset minds and bodies after a few days off. Jakirovic’s non-negotiable is that the team “never surrender” in games and training is set up to replicate his wish for “vertical possession”.
“As soon as possible I want to get into the opponents’ half and put them under pressure,” Jakirovic says of his football philosophy.
“Modern football is all about transitions. When we get the ball, a fast transition to attack. If we lose it, react quickly. Maybe a foul but we need to stop them.
“Our strength is going forward so in every training session we want to put in their mind that the goal is in front of them. With the players we’ve got we want numbers in the box. It will never be pass, pass, pass for the sake of it.”
Some smart free agent signings – Oli McBurnie the headline arrival, who has justified the hype with seven goals already this season – have given Hull a platform to build on and they signed off for the international break with a fine win over Sheffield United.
Jakirovic makes no bones about fancying his chances of improving on Ilicali’s pre-season target of a top 10 finish. But he does have one complaint.
“This group, for me, is fantastic. They always work so hard,” he says.
“But for me they are too polite. I mean in the games. Sometimes in the game you need them to be bastards!
“It’s not anything to do with your personality, just that you want to win the game.”
Not that he views English football as soft.
“I call the Championship football rugby! They will not whistle for soft fouls,” he says. “For me this is good but still it’s football and you must protect the players.”
Even so Jakirovic says he has fallen in love with English football and its quirky traditions, such as sharing a drink with rival managers after the game.
He clicked immediately with Chris Wilder, the pair joking about Sheffield United’s decision to reappoint him just a few weeks after firing him for failing to win the Championship play-off final.
“He’s a great guy, a really nice guy. But I thanked him because if he is at Sheffield United in the summer then we don’t get Oli [McBurnie] because he goes to work with Chris,” Jakirovic says.
How he would now like to buck the trend of short stints on his CV.
“I would love to have a bit longer here,” he says.
“When I spoke to the owner I told him that everywhere I go I’m there for one or two years. But he told me, ‘Don’t worry, you will be here with me for 10 years!’
“That would be nice.”
