From the Yorkshire post, interesting read, basically says if it all goes tits up we’ll be sticking with sellers….
Acun Ilicali says he would not have appointed Ruben Selles as Hull City's new coach if he was scared of relegation, but he was more concerned with finding someone who could develop the team for the long term.
Selles takes charge of the
Tigers for the first time at home to
Watford tonight with his side bottom of the Championship after Saturday's defeat to
Blackburn Rovers.
“If I was afraid of being relegated, if I had any fear, I would never go with a young manager who has never been in the Championship,” said Turkish owner/chairman Ilicali as he presented the 41-year-old to the media.
For us the future is important. I would never have a coach for a certain time to save the club.
Instead of that I would go for a manager I see potential in and I feel it in my heart and go for the future.
“We had some options which could have been very advantageous for saving us with fully experienced Championship coaches that were available and could save us on paper so easily but I didn't care about that.”
For his part, the former Southampton caretaker and
Reading manager has promised fans will see a proper “Ruben Selles team” on Wednesday despite having just two training sessions to prepare.
I hope you will see a team that you can identify as a Ruben Selles team and from the very beginning has the characteristics,” said the Spaniard, who will test Alfie Jones’ fitness on matchday. “It's never 100 per cent in football but I think we can be a good version of what we want to be in the future.
We know only one way to win football matches (albeit) with adaptions. We are not talking about being protective and going for a 0-0 and a set play.
“We can adjust things but we are not going to compromise anything.”
And he believes he has a squad that can do what he wants.
“I think the squad is more than capable to do the things we demand to get the points to make the first steps out of the relegation zone,” he said.
“I think it's a powerful squad and we need to make it work.
We'll work on the process and our behaviours. When we train harder than we play, it means we're in a good place and prepared for the situations that are going to come into the game.
“(In time) our memory as a team will give us the answer so we can solve questions by just looking each other in the eye.
It's going to take a bit of time but the answer from the players has already been fantastic.
“We have a clear idea of how to play the game, we want to be aggressive, vertical, front-footed, very dynamic attacking and aggressive in the counter-press. That's the idea.
Then we need to develop in different scenarios with the players we have. But the team will have an identity you can recognise.”
Jared Dublin, promoted from head of recruitment to sporting director and was a key part of the selection process, was also thinking long-term in his appraisal of a man he worked with at Reading.
“We see Ruben as a very big part of the next step and want to make sure we're looking after the best interest of the club and not just the short-term, the medium and long-term,” he said.
