Hull City boss on returning 'leader' Oli McBurnie and Tigers' most important Championship result of season so far

For all manner of reasons as well.

Asked if his side’s showing against visiting Wrexham represented one of their most complete performances of the campaign up to press, Sergei Jakirovic was quick off the mark. ‘I think, yes’, he said and few would disagree.

Watching City owner/chairman Acun Ilicali, currently in England, certainly wouldn’t. His sense of timing at the MKM Stadium was exquisite as the hosts secured a reassuringly strong 2-0 win where the margin of victory could have been several goals more.

Some would go further and opine that it was the most vital win, given the context.

Hull came into the game on the back of a ghastly 4-1 home reverse to Middlesbrough, where the hosts’ first-half display was widely considered by many seasoned Tigers watchers to have been the worst served up in East Yorkshire for a number of years.

City’s defending in the opening half was simply appalling, while their game management around the pitch was similarly lamentable.

They needed to respond and they did that outstandingly well.

Alongside the events against Boro, the result against Wrexham carried extra weight due to the absence of top-scorer Joe Gelhardt, who will be out until the new year with a calf issue.

A clean sheet - just a second on home soil this term - also possessed significance given the carnage of five nights earlier as well.

That City managed to secure it against an in-form side who came into the game on the back of a nine-match unbeaten sequence gave the victory added lustre.

As did the fact that Hull, who moved into the final play-off slot, had lost their previous two home matches.

Individual performances fortified the good-feeling among a Tigers side who face a big game at a top-six rival in third-placed Millwall this weekend.

Ivor Pandur made a key penalty save to deny Kieffer Moore early in the second half.

He has now saved three of his last six spot-kicks and his heroics followed on from his key contribution at the death at the MKM against Sheffield United in September.

Across the pitch, players who were in the dock post-Boro stepped up, while the sight of Oli McBurnie making a goalscoring return from the bench after just under two months out with a calf problem was also consequential.

Just four minutes after coming on in the second period, the former Blades, Barnsley and Bradford City striker announced himself.

His telepathy with Ryan Giles reaped another dividend as he turned in a juicy cross from the Tigers’ flying left-back. It’s been a prodigious supply line so far in 2025-26.

McBurnie’s strike was the icing on the cake. He will be needed, for sure, in the busy Christmas and New Year period. Especially given the developments regarding Gelhardt.

On McBurnie’s instinctive understanding with Giles, Jakirovic said: "This is Oli. You cannot teach him.

"This is inside him. And we are very happy because he is back on the pitch. He missed two months, I think, so (that’s) nine, ten games.

"He's a leader. In every club, you have this profile of the players who are leading everything on the pitch. You don't need to be captain. He's a truly natural leader."

All over the pitch, there were good news stories. Mohamed Belloumi, who did the equivalent of twist Wrexham defender Dom Hyam’s blood in setting up Kyle Joseph’s opener, excelled in his first start since September 20, for instance.

The recalled duo of Darko Gyabi and Joel Nsala, both hauled off at the interval in the recent game at Stoke City, provided just the sort of response which Jakirovic would have been hankering for.

Meanwhile, Semi Ajayi, who had a torrid night versus Boroin particular, also produced a very impressive defensive performance, given those previous events. On this form, City will be wishing he won’t be going off to the African Cup of Nations shortly.

Jakirovic continued: "We had a very good meeting on Monday. The lads were very aware of the bad performance. We all failed.

"I failed as well. You are just waiting for the next game to try to show that it was a bad day in the office. That's it.

"The lads know already that I need everybody here. So they will all get the chance, and they have to be ready."

On specific timespan regarding the absence of 10-goal Gelhardt, on a season-long loan from Leeds United, the City chief said: "Our prediction is five weeks and in five weeks we have how many games? A hundred... So we will see. We cannot change anything.

"We will try to replace him. It's not easy because he scored 10 goals and two assists, but we will try to replace him with a team effort."