Coventry, Middlesbrough & Ipswich Town may be panicking over Hull City developments | OneFootball

The Tigers are well and truly in the promotion conversation after an impressive run of form and transfer window

In recent seasons, the top of the Championship table has very much resembled a 'closed shop', with promotion and play-off positions often filled by sides with some of the division's strongest financial resources and squad depth.

However, Hull City are certainly bucking such a trend in style at present, with Tigers supporters daring to dream of promotion to the Premier League for the first time in nine years.

It has been a remarkable first campaign at the MKM Stadium thus far for Sergej Jakirovic, who initially inherited a squad which was only able to preserve the club's second tier status on goal difference under his predecessor, Ruben Selles.

Hull had, to an extent, gone about their business in the opening weeks of the Bosnian's tenure in HU3 under the radar. However, it has reached a stage where the East Yorkshire side are beginning to be taken seriously by those on the outside, as well as a continued sense of defiance and excitement which has whirled around the MKM in recent weeks.

Indeed, it has been well-documented that City were one of two sides in the Championship to be hit by sanctions on behalf of the EFL in pre-season.

The imposition of a two-window transfer fee restriction only added to several pre-season claims that the Tigers were braced for a second relegation to League One within six years.

However, after a rather impressive first window under said restrictions and a new head of recruitment in Martin Hodge - who has worked alongside sporting director Jared Dublin - the winter window also couldn't have gone any better from the club's perspective, which could also be bad news for those around them in the standings - most notably Coventry City, Middlesbrough and Ipswich Town.

The end period of 2025 and start of 2026 couldn't have gone much better for Jakirovic and his side, all things considered.

In the past 10, 15 and 20 Championship fixtures, no side has picked up more points than Hull, who have accumulated a total of 41 from the last 60 available. As such, only Bromley - who lead League Two - Aston Villa and Arsenal are in a richer vein of long-term form than the Tigers.

Many questioned whether even a play-off bid could be sustained after City's previous defensive frailties were ruthlessly exposed by Kim Hellberg's side in a 4-1 success on December 5th, with Boro one of just four sides to leave HU3 victorious thus far alongside Blackburn Rovers, Ipswich and Stoke City.

The aforementioned defeat to the Potters is also the only defeat which Jakirovic's side have suffered since the grim Friday night against Middlesbrough.

January has also been a near-perfect month for City as a result, as they defeated Blackburn in the FA Cup to set up a reunion with Liam Rosenior, who is now Chelsea boss, in round four, as well as registering four Championship victories on the spin for the first time since November 2021.

As well as many pre-existing members of Jakirovic's squad, such as Oli McBurnie, Regan Slater and Kyle Joseph, in a strong run of form, at least three of those successes have also been down to the immediate impact made by those who joined throughout the window.

City had to strike a fine balance in the winter market, and they were certainly able to do that alongside their remarkable run of on-pitch form.

Six players have moved to the MKM Stadium in 2026, whilst five exited, largely down to the 'one in, one out' policy which the club have had to adopt due to the aforementioned restrictions.

However, two of those have certainly made an impression, with Yu Hirakawa assisting McBurnie's overhead kick with his very first touch in the 3-0 success over Preston North End on January 20th, whilst Lewis Koumas - who was a previous loan target in the summer - netted with his first goal contribution in front of 2,948 jubilant Tigers fans against Blackburn at Ewood Park in the final game of the month.

The experience of Kieran Dowell and Paddy McNair - who have previously played with several members of the City squad elsewhere - will also be vital in the long run, whilst Toby Collyer will also hope to prove his worth in midfield after an injury-hit stint at West Bromwich Albion on loan from Manchester United.

It was also key for Hull that they were able to retain both Charlie Hughes and John Egan, with Crystal Palace linked with the former, whilst Ipswich and West Ham were credited with interest in the experienced Irishman in the window's final days.

Hull can narrow the gap on the automatic promotion spots and further cement their top six position with a fifth win on the bounce against Watford, which kickstarts a run of five home matches in all competitions.

As such, if City are to keep up such strong form, then nerves will be jangling at the CBS Arena, the Riverside Stadium and Portman Road in the final weeks of the season.