The Tigers have found home comforts challenging in the past few days
Barry Cooper Hull City correspondent
05:00, 08 Feb 2026
Hull City’s Oli McBurnie netted his 12th goal of the season on Saturday(Image: PA Wire/PA Images)
Sergej Jakirovic says expectations have risen amongst Hull City‘s supporters, and admits it could have impacted his players in the past two games.
The Tigers missed the opportunity to capitalise on leaders Coventry City dropping points by losing 3-2 to Bristol City on Saturday, despite leading through Oli McBurnie’s well-taken 24th-minute goal.
It was the second game in five days where the Tigers had struggled in front of their own fans, having been held to a flat 0-0 draw against Watford on Tuesday night.
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While few expected a promotion surge at the start of the season, City’s remarkable form had seen them move up to third, just four points off top spot. But having led against the Robins, they quickly found themselves 3-1 down before Kieran Dowell gave them faint hope in the closing stages.
A first defeat in six games ended a month-long run since their last home reverse, when Stoke City were 1-0 winners at the MKM Stadium on New Year’s Day, and Jakirovic says the Tigers should be proud of their season so far.
“I think that we had a couple of times a very good run, six, seven, eight games unbeaten,” Jakirovic told Hull Live. “I know expectations are very high, maybe this is the problem, because no matter how much I try to remove this pressure, sometimes they feel it.
“But I’m always supportive, positive, optimistic, we must enjoy these moments, this is my opinion, because no matter how this season will be finished, we should be proud of this season.”
Despite a disappointing few days on home soil, City remain fourth in the league and have a seven-point cushion to the chasing play-off pack as they take a two-week break from Championship action with the FA Cup taking precedent next week, and the Croatian believes the break is coming at a good time.
“If somebody offered you before the season this – now, 54 points – I would sign immediately,” he continued.
“Maybe we need a reset. I think this week we can use this to recover well. I can’t say that my players don’t give everything every game, so sometimes it’s about the quality of the opponent, because opponents are also preparing for you maybe better than in the first part of the season. But okay, this is my problem and I must find a solution.”
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