Hull City's owner Acun Ilicali could barely contain his excitement as he revealed the secrets behind their promotion success at the weekend. The club, which finished 21st in the Championship last season and survived relegation by just one point, faced a transfer embargo over the summer due to late payments to other clubs. This forced them to rely solely on free transfers and loans, requiring considerable creativity.
Oli McBurnie's 19th goal of the campaign secured a 1-0 victory over Middlesbrough at Wembley, clinching Hull's return to the Premier League. However, the fact that McBurnie was available to strengthen Hull's attack was largely due to the strategic thinking of the brains trust Ilicali has come to rely on.
The Key Figures Behind the Scenes
Central to this effort are sporting director Jared Dublin, head of recruitment Martin Hodge, and assistant coach Dean Holden. Holden, in particular, was appointed by manager Sergej Jakirovic after the two had a heated confrontation while coaching rival teams in Turkey last year. Jakirovic admired Holden's boldness and brought him on board.
Dublin, an American educated at Berkeley via Liverpool, started his career at Sheffield United. His time there taught him the importance of character in promotion-winning teams. He was instrumental in recommending players like James McAtee and Anel Ahmedhodzic, who made significant impacts at Bramall Lane. At Hull, Dublin's fingerprints were all over key signings such as John Egan, John Lundstram, and McBurnie, all of whom had promotion experience from Sheffield United. He also used his contacts to unearth Algerian midfielder Mo Belloumi from the Portuguese league.
Planning and Market Knowledge
Planning and market knowledge were crucial if Hull were to build on the strong foundation laid by Jakirovic by January. Operating on a tight budget forced them to focus on athleticism, quality, and experience—players who could hit the ground running immediately. 'We prioritised Championship experience and the adaptability of certain players,' said Dublin. 'You don't want players to have to take that big three-month integration period. We will always bring in someone like a Mo Belloumi from Portugal or a Gustavo Puerta from Bayer Leverkusen, a Colombian international, to invest in young talent.'
Dublin noted that the spending restrictions imposed on Hull 'focuses you – you can only shop in this aisle.' The club added 20-year-old Welsh international Lewis Koumas on loan from Liverpool, Manchester United's Toby Collyer (22), and veteran Paddy McNair (31) on a free transfer from San Diego. Their planning was so thorough that they had a quiet January deadline day. 'A quiet deadline day hopefully means you've done all your work beforehand,' added Dublin. 'We were comfortable with the business we'd done and had a quiet pizza with Sergej, his staff, and Martin Hodge's recruitment staff on deadline day. We did our work early, got the right players we felt would improve this group and give us a different dynamic in some areas of the pitch.'
The McBurnie Clause
One of the most notable examples of their inside knowledge was the clause in McBurnie's contract at Las Palmas. Ilicali explained, 'We waited for two months for Las Palmas to be relegated in order to get Oli McBurnie because in his contract was a clause that meant if he is relegated, he could be a free transfer.' This kind of insight was invaluable for a club operating under financial restrictions.
Dublin had tapped into the relationships and knowledge he built over six years at Sheffield United, as well as shorter stints at Reading and Stoke City. His reputation remains strong, and he valued the input of Hodge and Holden, who provided a strong link between staff and the manager and worked closely on tactics with the players. Hodge, a former Everton and Sheffield Wednesday goalkeeper, has been in the game for 52 years, while Holden brought extensive league experience from coaching Bristol City, Stoke, and Oldham.
Looking Ahead to the Premier League
Just hours after the promotion parade, Dublin was already back at work. The American, along with Jakirovic and Ilicali, began planning for the Premier League return. Due diligence had already been done, as Dublin had prophetically stated in March: 'We don't want to get to May and feel undercooked for what could be a fantastic summer and next season for the club and the city.'
Manager Jakirovic admitted, 'I didn't know all these players, but they sent profiles of what is good for my style of football. We choose what is best for our team. This character, this mentality. It's been a very good job.' His assistant Holden added, 'It's been a whirlwind. What's important is we realise how we got here in the first place. The core group we have. You need those characters. But we are under no illusions, we've got work to do.'
