Sergej Jakirovic makes 'fortunate' admission after Hull City's 2-0 win over Norwich City
Sergej Jakirovic conceded his Hull City side were fortunate in the first half of their 2-0 win over Norwich City.
Joe Gelhardt and Darko Gyabi, former teammates at Leeds United, registered second-half goals to give the Tigers three points at Carrow Road.
It was a result that piled pressure on a struggling Norwich side, led by the under-fire Liam Manning.
However, Jakirovic admitted Hull were fortunate not to concede in the opening 45 minutes.
Hull City head coach’s verdict
He said: “In the first half we just survived. They were much better than us and we couldn’t really do much in and out of possession.
“They had a lot of chances and we were fortunate that they didn’t take any of them. I knew we could not play again like that so we changed things at half-time and that gave us a lot more stability in terms of our shape.
“Then we get a goal and that gives us the confidence to go on and win the game. It was a great team effort in the end. We were not good in the first half but the players stuck together and showed a lot of character and fight to get a huge victory, a huge three points.”
Liam Manning’s apology
His opposite number, Manning, apologised for heading into the dressing room following the full-time whistle as fans expressed their displeasure.
He said: “That was poor of me and I apologise for that. Sometimes the disappointment gets the better of you - and I didn’t want to go out there and antagonise people - but I was wrong not to go on the pitch.
“To have so many excellent moments in the first half and so many terrible moments in the second really is tough to take.
“Of course I am hurting, it’s not nice and I don’t like it. I know it’s unacceptable to lose the number of games we have.
“I can look at myself and say I am giving everything to turn it around but I know something has to change and there will be discussion about it”.