Sergej Jakirovic makes frank admission after Hull City's defeat to QPR and addresses pitch issue
Hull City head coach Sergej Jakirovic accused his side of gifting goals away in their 3-1 defeat to Queens Park Rangers.
Joe Gelhardt cancelled out a Paddy McNair own goal but Hull capitulated in the dying embers, conceding in the 84th and 95th minutes.
Daniel Bennie put the visitors ahead before Richard Kone added insult to injury.
Post-match, Jakirovic delivered a frank assessment of his side’s shortcomings.
Sergej Jakirovic’s assessment
He said: “This was a bad game for us, but that’s football. We started very well and had control, but their first goal was unacceptable as we prepared all week for corners.
“After 80 minutes I was very angry and it was unbelievable that we conceded a goal from a throw-in.
“After they scored a second goal, we lost everything – balance, discipline, everything. We gave them three goals and they could have scored more.”
Pitch issue addressed
The MKM Stadium pitch came into focus due to its poor condition and while Jakirovic did acknowledge the issue, he was unwilling to use it as an excuse.
He said: “It was not easy because of the pitch but we put ourselves under pressure by playing backwards all the time.
“I don’t know why that happened but now we must find a way to change. I must also find a way.
“We must be smarter – after 80 minutes it was 1-1 – but everyone can see that the players coming back from injury cannot find a rhythm.
“Congratulations to them, but it’s very disappointing. I believe we must all take responsibility – me and the players.”
The QPR view
Jakirovic’s opposite number, Julien Stephan, said: “It was a great, creative performance.
“I was very proud of the players from the very beginning. They showed a lot of quality from kick-off. But the most important thing is that we stuck to the plan and kept calm.
“We were calm at half-time and then in the second half we had big, big chances to kill the game before we scored a third.
“We wanted to push after half-time and press more. We did that well and we also showed a lot of ambition to attack and to create dangers.”