Exclusive:'I expect' - Phil Brown delivers Hull City prediction and makes pundit claim
Phil Brown has delivered a verdict on his former club Hull City following their Premier League curtain-raiser
Phil Brown has tipped his former club Hull City to cause more upsets following their shock victory over Manchester United.
The Tigers were promoted via the Championship play-offs last term despite having been tipped for a promotion tilt by very few.
Hull are again playing the role of underdogs and the build-up to their curtain-raiser against Manchester United last week was dominated by pundit criticism.
Former England international Joe Cole mocked Hull’s chances of survival, prompting a backlash from fans and owner Acun Ilicali.
The Tigers responded by roaring to a 2-0 win over Manchester United - and Brown does not think it will be their last upset of the season.
Phil Brown’s Hull City prediction
He told The Yorkshire Post via OLBG: “It’s going to be a long season, and I’m really looking forward to it. I wasn’t just excited because they beat Manchester United on the first day of the season - I’m really excited to see all three teams.
“I’m not an Ipswich Town supporter and I’m not a Coventry City supporter, but I have managed Hull City. I was at the club for four or five years and I know what the people are like.
“I expect it to be a decent season, I expect them to be resilient, and I expect them to upset one or two people - which they’ve already done on the first day.”
Pundit criticism addressed
Hull have splashed the cash in an effort to strengthen Sergej Jakirovic’s squad, although the investment has not been eye-catching enough to alter many final-table forecasts.
Brown, who led Hull between 2006 and 2010, feels many do not understand what it is like to be in charge of the Tigers.
He said: “Everybody on the radio, everybody on the TV, all the great pundits that are flying around at the moment who don’t actually know what it’s like.
“With all due respect to Gary Neville and Roy Keane and people like that, they haven’t really managed a club like Hull City, who are not renowned for being in the top flight of English football. They haven’t really played for them - they’ve always been at great clubs, massive clubs. So to understand the expectancy level of a Hull City, and be able to deal with it and cope with it, I think that’s a rarity.
“That’s a management team that sometimes needs to learn on the job. But in the main, it’s a management team that just needs to stick tight, needs to stay with the plan. And if it doesn’t go according to plan, then maybe adjust, maybe change, maybe rearrange it.”