There’s just over two months until the new season kicks off
Sergej Jakirovic knows the Tigers must be clinical and effective in the transfer market (Image: Visionhaus/Getty Images)
For those of a certain vintage, playing Manchester United in English football’s top division will have a significant amount of gravitas attached to it, probably more than any other club in the top flight.
Granted, United are not the force they once were under Sir Alex Ferguson and have fallen behind their noisy neighbours, Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool in recent years, with Leicester City even claiming their 5000/1 crown in 2016.
Hosting United in what will be City’s first game back in the top flight after a decade will be an occasion fitting of the club’s rise last season, and deserving of the focus and attention that will come their way as the season draws near.
United’s struggles since that last win in 2013 do not change the fact that they’re still England’s biggest club, and their arrival at the MKM Stadium will make the Tigers’ promotion feel very real very quickly. The buzz and excitement around that game will be something to behold for supporters, and it’s an occasion to really look forward to, but one that the players will see as a real opportunity to deliver a bloody punch on the nose.
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It will also highlight the fact that for Hull City, it’s a stark realisation that they’re back in the big time, and they need to be ready for when the United circus rumbles into the East Riding on August 22.
It’s barely a month since their Wembley triumph, and seeing the make-up of their fixture list released on Friday morning really hammered home just how far the Tigers have come, how exciting it all is, but also how far they must go just to be able to compete.
Around this time 12 months ago, City fans could have been plotting trips to Port Vale, Burton Albion, AFC Wimbledon and Leyton Orient, had Matt Crooks not scored the goal he did at Fratton Park to keep the Tigers in the Championship.
Now, Crooks and his crew are eyeing visits to Stamford Bridge, the Emirates, Old Trafford, Anfield and so many more wonderful football arenas, and that should be celebrated.
If they’re to go toe-to-toe with the giants of English football, whilst making the MKM Stadium a hostile, unwelcoming place for visiting teams, they must put their foot down in the transfer market.
Sergej Jakirovic will want to have the large bulk of his transfer window work done by the time 12:30pm comes around on August 22 because getting off to a good start is paramount, and to do that, Acun Ilicali, Jared Dublin and the rest of the recruitment team must be proactive, dynamic and set their stall out early to back their manager with arrivals that will hit the ground running, and make an impact both on the pitch, and in the dressing room.
For supporters, however, this is an occasion to relish, to plan and to get excited about. It’s going to be a tough campaign, that much we know, but seeing City’s name back in the big time is something to admire.
Now, with that all out of the way, attention turns to matters in hand and what the squad will look like come that first game in a little over 60 days’ time. No pressure.
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