3 Hull City issues that Sergej Jakirovic must fix ASAP | OneFootball

The Tigers have plenty of issues which need resolving under the Bosnian

Hull City have concluded their managerial search with the appointment of former Bosnian centre-back, Sergej Jakirovic on an initial two-year contract after reaching an agreement with Kayserispor.

The last 12 months have certainly been eventful and chaotic for the Tigers, who saw themselves drastically fall down the Championship table from play-off contenders towards a lengthy relegation battle, eventually securing their safety on the final day of the season.

Despite achieving the extremely short-term goal, Ruben Selles was dismissed 12 days later and has eventually been replaced by the 48-year-old, who leaves the Turkish Süper Lig outfit after just five months in charge, in which he steered 'Anadolu Yıldızı' away from relegation danger.

Acun Ilicali will be hoping to have nailed the fifth permanent appointment of his tenure thus far, and in the subsequent club statement once confirmation was given, the City owner said: “My dream for our club has never changed from the first day I took over, and I believe in Sergej as we look forward to the 2025/26 Sky Bet Championship campaign together as one family.”

Following the breaking developments, FLW have picked out three key issues which must be addressed in order for the club to progress forward.

Hull City's goalscoring form has to improve

Undoubtedly, the biggest issue Jakirovic has to fix in order for any success to be enjoyed is Hull's prolificacy in front of goal.

Regardless of the fact that an array of players who were accountable for the 68 goals scored in Liam Rosenior's final season had departed, a return of 44 goals last term under Selles and his predecessor, Tim Walter, was the worst figure in the second tier and one of the lowest in the entire EFL as a result.

Joao Pedro ended up as the top scorer in Black and Amber with a tally of six from 35 appearances, whilst Joe Gelhardt, who only featured 20 times ended up as the joint-second-highest with five and Chris Bedia, whose loan spell was cut short in January, ended up with the joint-third-best return with three goals to his name.

A lack of quality in such areas was also proven by the fact that 59 of 79 big chances were missed across 46 games, emphasising exactly why it's imperative that the likes of Oli McBurnie and Mahir Emreli - who played under Jakirovic at Dinamo Zagreb - have emerged on City's radar at such an early stage of the summer.

Long-serving players must be replaced with adequate quality amid exit talk

Whilst longevity and loyalty aren't exactly buzzwords currently associated with football, Hull still have plenty of long-serving players among the ranks.

Lewie Coyle, Alfie Jones, Sean McLoughlin and Regan Slater have played 708 times for the Tigers between them, although questions have been asked by sections of the fanbase as to whether a changing of the guard is needed if the club is to progress forward.

Slater has been linked with a potential move to Stoke City in recent days, whilst McLoughlin was the subject of interest from fellow divisional rivals Blackburn Rovers 11 months ago, meaning that departures on this front aren't beyond the realms of possibility.

Nobody can fault the quartet's commitment to the cause under many managers and head coaches in HU3, and they will hope to justify to Jakirovic why they should be kept around. But, it wouldn't be a surprise to see some of the aforementioned names moved on, and they must be replaced with adequate quality and depth, which is something Ilicali and the recruitment team in East Yorkshire haven't always got right.

Sergej Jakirovic must avoid early Tim Walter, Shota Arveladze comparisons

Every appointment comes with its own elements of potential risk and reward, but an early achievement for the new boss would be to avoid early criticism and comparisons to the aforementioned Walter and Shota Arveladze, who previously failed to hit their objectives after being imported from the continent.

Whilst City have enjoyed some success when scouting networks associated with Ilicali's home country of Turkey in the form of ex-playmaker, Ozan Tufan, these instances have been few and far between on the pitch and in the dugout, which has led to a constant revolving door of players and managers during the last three-and-a-half years.

As a result, some supporters have reservations over Jakirovic's appointment. However, it is clear from his resume that he has a knack of transforming the fortunes of his previous clubs, such as a double-winning season in Zagreb, winning the Bosnian top-flight by 27 points with Zrinjski Mostar amid an initial 14-game unbeaten run in the league, as well as keeping Kayserispor afloat by eight points - winning eight of his 17 matches in charge, with an overall career win percentage of 58.9% from 292 games.

Understandably, he will be the subject of comparisons to City's previous German and Georgian bosses. But there is hope that they will be strongly positive, and that Hull's dreams of returning to the Premier League can be realised sooner.

It promises to be an extremely intriguing division this time around, with Birmingham City and Wrexham expected to compete immediately, as well as the relegated trio of Leicester City, Ipswich Town and Southampton, and Jakirovic will need to be backed adequately across the summer and get off to a fast start, which was far from the case this time last year.