Hull City fans ready to hold tight for thrilling ride under Tigers’ new ownership

Hitching a lift with television mogul and Hull City owner Acun Ilicali is much like working for him, explains ex-basketballer and football agent Kesler. I suggest it is the same for fans.

“You’re going to feel, ‘Nothing is protecting me!’ but it will feel good because the wind is blowing, we’re feeling the speed and power of the engine,” says Hull’s vice-chairman.

“I don’t mind waking up every day and our chairman coming up with a new idea, it keeps me fresh. At one point I kept having to say no and I’m not that guy but now I’m enjoying it more.”

This summer Ilicali really put his imprint on the club. As we talk, 10 players have signed but it is now 12 – a real gear-shift after the Allam family stripped spending and ambition back.

The only certainty is it will not be boring. As well as beating Bristol City (in added time) and Norwich City this season, Hull lost to Bradford City and 5-2 to West Bromwich Albion.

Kesler is influenced by his and Ilicali’s Turkish backgrounds and his dad, former coach and Turkey player Sevcet, “an honest guy with unbending principles.”

“In developed countries the system works and people are okay to be part of it because it’s safe and secure but we come from a country where it’s constant chaos,” explains Kesler. “We’re not trying to create mass chaos but we want to touch those excitement nerves by doing something different.

“I played basketball in the US for Kean University and in Turkey for Besiktas. I had the chance to play in Germany but I wanted a different challenge.

“I have to visualise his (Ilicali’s) ideas and make them reality. From the moment we decided to buy the club I started living here.”

To “do something different”, Ilicali needed a clean slate. First he bought into Fortuna Sittard.

“It was not the success we were looking for so he said maybe try the Championship,” says Kesler. “We needed a clean, well-managed club with a background at a high level so I started looking. We took a trip here and he loved it. After six or seven months of negotiations it happened.”

It was too late in January for a big transfer window.

“We got the job at the end of a short hit-and-miss window,” reflects Kesler. “I spent three days removing our transfer embargo and it left us two-and-a-half days. Coyley (Lewie Coyle) and (Josh) Emmanuel were injured so we didn’t have a right-back but Shota (Arveladze, Hull’s coach) is brilliant at solutions.

“This window hasn’t felt like a marathon, more like a decathlon.”

Taking supporters – many disillusioned when Ilicali arrived – on the journey is important.

“Fans contribute half of your revenues,” Kesler points out. “That’s why it’s very important to be on site full-time talking to fans, understanding them. We will make mistakes but our intentions are good. If you can’t forgive us for that, you either don’t believe us or don’t want this club to be successful.”

There have been important gestures – free under-10s memberships, free coaches to Queens Park Rangers and reconfiguring the stadium.

“(Ilicali) said what’s the point if we have 16,000 chasing gate receipts?” says Kesler. “We might as well get the young ones staying away hooked on the adrenaline of football. Why not admit them free and have 21,000?

“We were watching a match and he said it didn’t feel like we were playing at home. He’d never seen away fans behind the goal. Now we have our fans behind the nets (at both ends). The Bristol game turned around because the fans had a significant impact.”

This summer’s marquee signing has been Ozan Tufan, a midfielder with 65 Turkey caps.

“The chairman represents trust so much in Turkey that players like Ozan believed in his vision,” says Kesler. “He opened a door to certain players as somewhere they could start their journey – the same as (Jean Michael) Seri. I spoke to Seri for two months and at one point I said to the chairman, ‘You need to speak to him because he needs a bit of a boost to come here.’ He told Seri he wouldn’t see him as an asset but a human being, part of our family. Seri was inspired.

“We could have designed a perfect domestic squad but we had to do something different. As a Championship club it’s very hard to recruit from the Premier League so we went back to Turkey. Next I want to recruit high-level British players who believe in Hull and don’t just think London is ages away.”

Retaining academy-reared talent is important too.

“I’ve been criticised for not rewarding Hull-developed boys, that’s not true,” insists Kesler. “Brandon Fleming was with the Under-23s when we saw something special. He was a local and we wanted a team chemistry so we played him right away. I’m very sensitive about giving home-grown players what they deserve but not making them feel so secure they don’t need another challenge.”

Keane Lewis-Potter joined Brentford for £16m in July but Jacob Greaves signed a new deal despite Middlesbrough’s interest.

“Keano grew up in this area and developed from our Under-9s,” reflects Kesler. “He thought the Premier League dream was just too far. We told him if he waited one more year the dream would still be there and you can achieve it in a different way. Our chairman said we would not sell him, even for £30m. He meant if he didn’t want to go.

“With Jacob, from the first minute I wanted to keep him. We have data on how much we’ve spent to get academy players to Championship level. It’s not just financial – they make errors. I was very honest with Jacob – a great boy, a fighter with a unique left foot who comes from a football family. We said, ‘You need to extend your contract and trust us to develop you for one more year. If the dream doesn’t happen we’ll look for options for you, and we’ll only look up.’ He’s from here, he represents here, why go to the same level?

“Maybe because of the club’s history he couldn’t believe we would honour that. We told him we’re going to create a Premier League-level player and in the end he bought into that. We’re proud of that.”

Ilicali is in a hurry again.

“We’re on the red line already but there will be more exciting signings,” promises Kesler. “We couldn’t gradually develop a squad because we don’t have that patience. We’re success-hungry and don’t care about money.”

Ask how City will look in three years and the reply tells you what Kesler expects in the interim.

“If we’re still in the Premier League we’ll be fighting against Goliath but retaining our sanity,” he says. “If we’re in the Championship we’ll expect to compete to win promotion again. Local and global will create a different culture – fast-paced, always problem-solving, result-oriented but with sincerity, honesty and transparency.

“Three years more vibrant.”

Hold on tight.