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Jubilant Tigers pounce on their promotion chance

Jubilant Tigers pounce on their promotion chance

Even the most devout Hull City fan could not have envisaged their season ending like this.

Oli McBurnie's late, late winner against Middlesbrough means the Tigers, who finished 21st in the Championship last season, will play Premier League football next term.

The East Yorkshire side have confounded expectations, a transfer embargo, and the off-field drama surrounding Southampton and Spygate, to secure a remarkable promotion.

How to mark it? Well, not in Las Vegas if you're Hull boss Sergej Jakirovic, whose players have been promised a trip there by club owner Acun Ilicali.

"This is a trip for the players. I will be with my family in Croatia. We have a beautiful coast there," Jakirovic said.

"They go to Vegas. You know what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. This is not for me."

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Jakirovic said before the game that his side had been "collateral damage" from Southampton's expulsion from the play-offs, which left them having to pivot from preparing for a game against the Saints to Boro four days before the final.

Despite the pre-match difficulties and being the underdogs, as they had been in the semi-final against third-placed Millwall, they got the job done on a boiling hot day at Wembley.

Promotion capped off a tremendous first season in English football for the former Bosnia international.

Jakirovic had won titles in Bosnia and Croatia before a brief spell in Turkey at the end of last season, but he was perhaps only really known in the UK for being the Dinamo Zagreb boss when they were hammered 9-2 by Bayern Munich in the Champions League in 2024-25. He was sacked days later.

If he came to England to prove a point, then it is very much a case of mission accomplished.

"When Oli scored the goal I was thinking 'I am dreaming and this is a movie'," he said.

"I'm very emotional. A lot of players were crying from happiness.

"It's an unbelievable journey. I think we are not aware of everything we have achieved today. We had so many problems.

"I'm very proud of everyone, especially the players; they are the main actors."

Hull were given a transfer embargo in the summer, confining them to free transfers and loans. The sanction was imposed because of late payments to other clubs.

Even with the limitations, Jakirovic had the team in promotion contention throughout the campaign and guided them to a play-off win over a Millwall side that finished three places and 10 points above them.

The 49-year-old is an imposing figure, but his players have benefited from his relaxed approach.

In the news conference after Saturday's win, he joked that Southampton might have watched his side train but that it wasn't a problem as "sometimes we are too bad".

"I thought 'What have I joined?'''

Hull survived relegation back to the third tier on the final day of last season with a 1-1 draw at Portsmouth.

Head of recruitment Martin Hodge was appointed weeks later and admitted that watching on from the stands that day at Fratton Park he had questioned his decision.

"We put a squad together just to try and get out of this league. The lads have been absolutely brilliant, and the manager has been a breath of fresh air," Hodge told BBC Radio Humberside.

"This is my 52nd year [in football] and I've been all over the world with Wales, I've been with big clubs. But this is the biggest achievement for me.

"I sat at Portsmouth last year, and I thought 'What have I joined?'

"So, in the space of a year, I think that's the biggest credit, the biggest achievement, is to those lads in the management, and our staff."

Hodge, who brought in experienced Championship campaigners like defender John Egan and match-winner McBurnie, will now have a slightly bigger budget to work with for the coming season.

Ilicali made headlines pre-match when he said he would consider legal action if reinstated Boro beat his side.

The fallout from Spygate likely has a long way to go yet, but there will be no need for that particular action.

"This is the best day of my life for sure. Because in my career, I managed many successes starting from zero in my business. "But football is a crazy thing," Ilicali told Sky Sports.

"We waited so much time [in stoppage time at the end]. Last five minutes, I couldn't move because I wouldn't be able to handle a last-minute goal."

Focus will eventually turn to preparations for the top flight. But for now, whether it's in Vegas, Croatia, Turkey or East Yorkshire, everyone connected with Hull can celebrate.

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