The Tigers get their Championship campaign underway in the Midlands on Saturday lunchtime
Hull City head coach Sergej Jakirovic has been pleased with what he’s seen over the course of pre-season (Image: PA Wire/PA Images)
Hull City head coach Sergej Jakirovic has declared himself pleased with how pre-season has played out for the Tigers, though he says he still wants to add more creativity in the top third of the pitch.
City rounded off their seven-game summer campaign with a creditable 0-0 draw with La Liga side Getafe on Saturday, which ended a run of five straight wins, including a success over Premier League newboys Sunderland.
Jakirovic is now preparing his side for the Championship opener at Coventry City on Saturday lunchtime, before a Carabao Cup trip to newly-promoted Wrexham four days later.
After inheriting a squad that survived relegation on the final day of the season, the Bosnian says the players have responded well to his demands.
“I think that we have changed our football style a lot,” he said when asked to sum up the pre-season campaign. “We are much more aggressive. In every moment of the play, we know what we need to do.
“The players have tried to accept our demands. I said in my first press conference that I would adapt to them, but also we would make some changes in our style, and I think in these seven games we have shown that. We can play good football with a lot of energy and intensity, so that we will be ready for the first game.”
The arrival of Oliver McBurnie will help City’s threat in the final third, but Jakirovic is keen to see more quality in the top third of the pitch.
Enis Destan arrived last week, while the club are keen to bring Joe Gelhardt back to the MKM Stadium from Leeds United, but adding creativity remains key.
“We can be better, we must be better,” the Bosnian said of City in the final third. “We can train all day, all year in the first (defence) and second (midfield) zone, but in the last third, this is down to the quality of the players.
“It’s always the quality of the players because you cannot train this. This quality comes naturally. The ideas, the vision of the players. One against one, this is ability. You can play or you can not, so this is the reason why we are still searching for one creative player in the midfield.”
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