Hull City's hungry, obsessive man-manager - what 'talent-finder' Acun Ilicali saw in Ruben Selles

In his day job in Turkish television, Acun Ilicali prides himself on being a talent-finder who feeds off the energy of youth.

And whilst he says Ruben Selles' talent was staring him in the face, Ilicali is excited to work with a football obsessive whose penchant for man-management has seen him through tougher situations than the one he inherits at Hull City.

Selles starts right at the bottom of the Championship at home to Watford on Wednesday, but it is a walk in the park compared to being the third manager of Southampton's 2022-23 Premier League relegation, or taking over at Reading as those behind the scenes worked furiously to redefine "mismanagement".

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The qualities he showed caught Ilicali's eye, backed up by a glowing reference from Hull’s newly-promoted sporting director Jared Dublin.

"In my own profession in Turkey they call me a talent-finder," said owner/chairman Ilicali. "I found maybe 40, 50 talents on the stage and apart from that I've made maybe 500 people famous and effective in their business.

"I'm so happy if I can have any part in anybody's career.

"I always go with hungry people – hungry for success. This is something you can feel because I was like this and I reached all my targets in my profession.

"Now in the football business and I want to make a story here.

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NO COMPROMISE: New Hull City coach Ruben SellesNO COMPROMISE: New Hull City coach Ruben Selles
NO COMPROMISE: New Hull City coach Ruben Selles

"I feel like in my early days of television I was just trying to make people watch a programme – the first one was a failure, the second one was a failure but in the third I used my lessons and my experience to become No 1 in the world. I want to do the same in football.

"He's talented for sure. He's young but he has a history which is shining. I'm not calling him an undiscovered talent, he is experienced even if it's not been a long time.

"Of course Ruben has the talent, of course he is a top coach. But now it's time to build the history. I see a very big future shining with Ruben."

Selles’ energy impressed the TV mogul in the interview process.

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'OBSESSIVE': New Hull City coach Ruben Selles'OBSESSIVE': New Hull City coach Ruben Selles
'OBSESSIVE': New Hull City coach Ruben Selles

"I personally talked to him two times and I love people who are focused 100 per cent on their jobs and I love the energy of youth,” he said.

"We speak the same language.

"He's very bright, very focussed on his job plus he has a certain mentality about his football which we love."

Dublin, who joined Hull as head of recruitment in the summer having previously worked as head of scouting under Selles at Reading, explained more about that mentality.

TV BACKGROUND: Hull City owner/chairman Acun IlıcalıTV BACKGROUND: Hull City owner/chairman Acun Ilıcalı
TV BACKGROUND: Hull City owner/chairman Acun Ilıcalı

"One thing that stood out would be his obsession and maybe that's because we share that in common," he said. "It stood out a mile away.

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"It’s a willingness to chew the fat and not just talk on a higher level about a winger who does this or a six that does that but to really drill down into the detail of not just what someone does on the pitch but off it.

"We had a catchphrase I can't really say about an absolute non-starter when it came to personality traits.

"And he's a really good man, that means a lot."

For his part, Selles felt an immediate connection with a more hands-on chairman than most.

"Immediately when we talked, we talked about the way to do things, certain styles, certain ways they like to do things and we saw a lot of common points," said Selles. "Our interests and how we see the game were pretty aligned."

FIRST-HAND KNOWLEDGE: Jared Dublin worked with Ruben Selles at ReadingFIRST-HAND KNOWLEDGE: Jared Dublin worked with Ruben Selles at Reading
FIRST-HAND KNOWLEDGE: Jared Dublin worked with Ruben Selles at Reading

He expects his players to show the same mindset.

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"My thing is how I can do things to perform and I'm used to the pressure of relegation," he said.

"We try to always be focussed on playing football.

"Why we're here, why the players play football and why we're coaches is because we love football and we love to invest in the football and the training to challenge the opposition and put everything into winning.

"Anyone – it doesn't matter what part of the club – who doesn't have that feeling won't be part of us but the players have shown they want to be really focussed on the game and on the things they can do in the game."

Getting the most out of his players will also be about showing love to a squad which did not always feel it under the brusque Tim Walter.

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"Man-management is something you have, it's in the way you do things," argued Selles. "It's not like today I need to speak with three (players) or tomorrow I need to put that message in.

"We are talking about players but we are talking about people.

"We need to be conscious of how we can create the spaces so everyone can be the best version of themselves, grow with us and make us grow as a team. That's how we try to speak and co-operate.

"We cannot make players run if they don't want to run, we cannot make them play if they don't want to play so we need to try to convince, be close to them and explain the situation to make them do those things in training and take ownership in other areas.

"It's more a part of the process and a way to do things than the strategy."

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