Everything Acun Ilicali said on Tan Kesler's Hull City exit, Oscar Zambrano ban and transfer window
Hull City owner Acun Ilicali has spoken for the first time this season about the Tigers' poor start to life under Tim Walter, saying he backs his manager to turn around the club's poor form.
The Tigers have slumped to 19th in the Championship table after just three wins in their opening 15 games, and in recent weeks, fans have turned on the manager, demanding he makes a change in the dugout for the second time in 2024, but at this stage, it looks as though that will not happen, for the time being, at least.
Ilicali's interview with Hull Live covered a host of topics, including his backing for Walter and why he felt the season had been so poor in the opening few weeks, but it also came at a time of perceived instability, too, with vice-chairman Tan Kesler suddenly leaving the club and a new internal restructure set to be announced, while Oscar Zambrano has been slapped with a long-term ban for alleged doping breaches prior to his summer move to the MKM Stadium from Ecuador club LDU Quito.
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Here's what the City owner had to say on other key topics....
What can you say about Tan Kesler's sudden departure and the internal restructure
"In football, what I see in many clubs are the professionals changing like the football players. Everybody in business life can change, and new people can come and go; this is the situation in clubs all around the world. I don't think there should be any worry from our fans about running the club operationally. I'm sure that they believe in me because they've believed in me from the first minute, and now they believe in me to make a new organisation inside the club.
"We have Mustafa (Yokes), Merthan (Acil) and Beri (Pardo) who have all been here from the early days with me. We also have Jared (Dublin), who came to us from Stoke City. I really believe in his future role inside the club, I think he will be one of the most important figures of British football in the future, he's young, energetic and I'm sure when times go by, our fans will understand that we have good people inside the club. There has been zero concentration lost from my side about Hull City."
How is Oscar Zambrano, and what's the situation with him?
"The Zambrano case is the same as we talked about before, and the club will not suffer any damage. At the moment, nobody can say anything solid (because of the legal process) about it. The boy is accused of doing something, but there is no reason for this boy to use this kind of thing. He was an international player when we signed him from Quito, so we are protected by it. We have no damage and in January, for sure, we will make a new number six transfer."
What are the early plans for January?
"It's going to be tough in the recruitment (given the league position), but I'm sure our fans will keep believing in us when they remember the players we have brought to this team. Our recruitment side, if you ask me, has been very successful since we came to the club. This year, our investments have been very good. Unfortunately, the long-term injuries to (Liam) Millar and (Mohamed) Belloumi have damaged our project. We are here for the fight, for the best, and to give everything for Hull City. We will push hard for the new players, and I have no doubt that we will bring good players again."