Sergej Jakirovic reveals Millwall surprise involving Barry Bannan | OneFootball

Hull City boss Sergej Jakirovic has revealed he was surprised that Millwall didn't start Barry Bannan against the Tigers at The Den

Hull City advanced to the Championship play-off final by beating Millwall 2-0 on Monday night, but Tigers boss Sergej Jakirovic has revealed that one of the Lions' selection calls surprised him.

Jakirovic's men and Alex Neil's side played out a 0-0 draw in Friday's semi-final first leg, leaving everything to play for in South London on Monday.

The tie remained 0-0 at half-time at The Den, but second-half goals from Mohamed Belloumi and Joe Gelhardt saw Hull book their spot at Wembley.

Jakirovic's side will face either Southampton or Middlesbrough at Wembley Stadium on 23 May, with a place in next season's Premier League on the line.

Hull City boss makes Barry Bannan admission following play-off triumph over Millwall

Millwall named the same starting 11 for their second leg clash as the one that faced Hull at the MKM Stadium on Friday night, meaning that Casper de Norre and Derek Mazou-Sacko sat alongside each other in a deep midfield pivot.

Consequently, former Sheffield Wednesday ace Barry Bannan, who joined the Lions in the winter transfer window, was left on the substitutes' bench.

The 36-year-old made a positive impact for his side off the bench on Friday, but couldn't prevent Neil's side from suffering a 2-0 defeat at The Den on Monday, having been introduced to the action on 64 minutes.

Speaking to South London.co.uk, Hull boss Jakirovic revealed that he was surprised not to see Bannan in Millwall's starting lineup for the second leg: "I expected Bannan to start the game. We prepared also for that, that he would play, to try to press him, to press the ball and play us around the ball.

"But I was a little bit surprised because they started with the same 11, which is always tricky, because who will recover good in these three days?"

Unlike Millwall, Hull made two changes in personnel to their lineup for the second leg, also switching to a back three, which proved to be a stroke of genius.

The 49-year-old also demonstrated his tactical nous via substitutions, as Belloumi and Gelhardt both scored from the bench, albeit the former was introduced to the action because of Kyle Joseph's injury.

Hull City must fear no one following Millwall triumph

Hull will be the underdogs at Wembley Stadium on 23 May, regardless of whether Middlesbrough or Southampton win the other Championship play-off semi-final.

However, by defeating Millwall on Monday, the Tigers defeated the highest-ranked side in the play-offs, as Neil's men finished third in the second tier, just one point adrift of Ipswich Town, who sealed automatic promotion.

Jakirovic's men also won just one of their final seven games in the regular Championship season, leading to doubts over whether they had what it took to beat the Lions.

Now that they have beaten Millwall, though, Hull mustn't fear either Southampton or Middlesbrough at Wembley, despite finishing seven points behind both the Saints and Boro.

Belloumi was electric against Neil's side, and can cause any Championship side problems on his day, while John Egan and Charlie Hughes' defending was excellent, and they should be capable of a similar display at Wembley.

Furthermore, the Tigers have Oli McBurnie, this season's joint-second top scorer in the second tier, among their ranks.