Sergej Jakirovic on Hull City's forward planning for complicated final day of Championship
Sergej Jakirovic is leaving nothing to chance ahead of what could be a complicated final day of the regular Championship season for Hull City, as he revealed he will brief his substitutes before kick-off on what they can expect to be asked to do.
With all the Championship games kicking off at 12.30pm, it promises to be a head-scratcher of a day for Wrexham, Derby County and Hull as they chase the division's last available play-off spot.
Wrexham and Hull are level on points but the Dragons' goal difference is one better, and the Tigers' goals scored one better. If all ends up equal, Hull will finish higher because of their better head-to-head record in league games between the two this season.
But Derby, one point back, have a better goal difference than both.
Hull host Norwich City, Wrexham are at home to a Middlesbrough team still with an outside chance of automatic promotion, and Derby are at home to Sheffield United.
Jakirovic says his team will be ready to switch plans if they find themselves needing the chase an extra goal, or sit on what they have.
"We are prepared for that," he promised.
"For me, it's very important who will finish the game so you have to be ready, no matter how many minutes you will play.
"Because they know already, 90 per cent of them, they know who will come on the pitch and we don't have any injuries now, apart from unfortunately with Elliot (Matazo, who injured his anterior cruciate ligament for a second time at Charlton Athletic last week).
"I spoke with Paddy (McNair) the other day that if something went wrong, that he must be ready for it, he will come on.
"It's very important because if you analyse the games before, after our substitutions, we didn't increase our energy or our power, our strength.
"This is part of our analysis. We have to be better at this."
Jakirovic will be in the stands, serving a one-match suspension for his red card at Leicester City. He can see positives.
"I will be with my video analyst, Angelo (Roguljic) and then we have communication with the bench," he said.
"I'll see very well from my position on the pitch, even better than when I'm on the touchline, so we can change some plans there – it depends what we need. I will be in a better position – like a bird!
"Last time everything was very good. And also I can do my meeting (pre-match team-talk) and I can come in half time, which is good."
And whilst going into the final game of the season having to monitor other results is new to him, he is not fazed by that, either.
"We won the league in Bosnia Herzegovina with seven games to go (with Zrinjski Mostar in 2022)," he recalled. "We won the league in Croatia (with Dinamo Zagreb, two years later), two games to go.
"So we haven't had this before. Even the relegation battle with Kayserispor (last season), we did it with three games to go. This is first experience like this. But I have a lot of games (of experience).
"We have 10 people there (on the coaching staff). So it's very easy. You have internet."
In truth, the trickiest bit will be getting the points they need. Hull have not won any of their last six games and although there is a scenario where the right kind of defeat could put them in the top six, it seems unlikely.
"It will be not easy because of Norwich's form, because they play very good football, especially in 2026," said Jakirovic.
"We need more focus, more concentration on the task, a tactical plan that we are doing our job, that we agree before or during the whole week, that we've done in the training sessions.
"We have to show this performance and try to use our chances if possible."