Hull City’s Journey from Championship to Premier League

The sun was merciless, the mood anything but. On a blazing spring bank holiday, Sergej Jakirovic stepped out on to the balcony of Hull City Hall and spoke like a man who had just rewritten the script.

“I only had one task before the season – to stay in the Championship … I failed. We’re going to the Premier League!” he roared, 40,000 Hull supporters roaring right back at him.

Two days earlier, Oli McBurnie had spun the club’s history on its axis. His late winner in the Championship playoff final against Middlesbrough, a tight, nervy 1-0 at Wembley, sealed one of the most improbable promotions in recent memory. This was a side that had only escaped relegation to League One on goal difference in 2024-25. Twelve months later, they were climbing through the clouds.

Jakirovic, an imposing former centre-half and natural storyteller, had looked like the man with the alchemist’s touch.

From fairytale to survival fight

Three months on from those wild scenes in the city centre, the romance has given way to reality. Hull’s new-look squad is back in the underdog’s corner, staring at a division that shows no mercy.

Bookmakers have them nailed on for the drop. Pundits have lined up behind that verdict. Among them, former England pair Carlton Cole and Joe Cole, who mocked Hull’s chances on their podcast this week.

“Hull are gone, man,” Joe Cole said. “They have spent £70m and I’d be stunned if they stay up. They have come in through the back door, they’ve slipped in.”

The message from the outside is blunt: enjoy it while it lasts.

Jakirovic is not blinking.

On the eve of Manchester United’s visit to the MKM Stadium for Saturday’s lunchtime kick-off, the 49-year-old was fizzing with energy rather than fear. “I’m buzzing,” he said. “Of course there’s a very big gap between the Championship and Premier League. We’re up against the best teams, players and managers and I’ve seen all the predictions. But it’s a great motivation to prove them wrong because we don’t have anything to lose.”

The high of promotion has already been parked. “What we did last season was a very big achievement, but this is football and what happened yesterday doesn’t matter any more,” he said. “We want to improve and show that we can develop to do even better as a team – and of course we need another miracle to survive. It will be an even bigger achievement than winning promotion if we manage to stay up. We need 40 points, so everything is very clear.”

The target is simple. The route to it, far from it.

Hull hit back at the doubters

Hull, a city used to being an easy punchline, has found a new swagger under Jakirovic. The club’s supporters reacted furiously to the Coles’ dismissive tone; their head coach did not let it slide either.

“It was stupid and disrespectful towards the club and players because we earned everything on the pitch – nobody gave us anything for free,” he said. “It’s not fair, especially when it’s coming from ex-players who know how hard players work to reach the Premier League.

“If they were in my position they would fight, so it’s easy to say we’ll finish 20th, but can they bet on that? They can put everything on that or they can lose, so we will see. But we’re not here by accident.”

There was no rant, just a sharp edge. The message was clear: Hull intend to be more than a punchline.

Big spending, bigger risks

Behind the scenes, the club has doubled down on its Premier League gamble. Chairman Acun Ilicali, a high-profile figure who has publicly pledged to stand by Jakirovic even if Hull go down, has sanctioned an aggressive recruitment drive.

Eleven new signings have arrived, the club’s transfer record has been broken twice, and several of those additions are already on the injury list. The churn has been labelled scattergun by some observers, and Hull are not finished yet.

“We’re expecting three or four more players,” Jakirovic confirmed. “We’ve signed some good players with potential, but I’m also aware that they need more time to adapt and build chemistry with the team.”

The relationship between coach and chairman, he insists, is tight. “Mr Chairman and I have had a very good connection since our first meeting and we do everything together. In all decisions, we are always speaking and trying to improve our team in many ways.”

The squad may be raw, untested at this level, still learning each other’s runs and habits. But it is undeniably his squad now.

A life built on resilience

Hull’s surge back to the top flight – their fourth promotion to the Premier League since 2008 – has captured attention. So has the man driving it.

Jakirovic was born in Mostar, in what was then Yugoslavia, and raised in Metkovic in Croatia. His childhood was shaped by the 1990s Balkan wars: running from fighter plane bombings, taking shelter as conflict raged overhead. That backdrop forged a toughness and perspective that football alone could never provide.

His playing days took him through Slovakia, Slovenia and Bulgaria before he turned to management, moving restlessly from job to job. Hull is his eighth club in nine years. The Premier League, though, is the biggest stage he has ever stepped on.

“I always sleep like a baby because this is just sport at the end of the day,” he said with a smile. “I have to be fresh on Saturday; I also need to show my potential and prove that I can handle this stage. And I don’t have any doubt because I’ve showed already that I’m capable of doing some great things.”

The fairy tale is over. The fight starts now.