Hull City have tied Sergej Jakirović down to a new contract after he took them up last season and opened this one with two Premier League wins from two.

The deal runs to 2028 with an option for another year. Jakirović said the choice was easy. Support from the board and the stands had been there from the first week, and the city already felt like home.

That warmth was not obvious when he arrived. Hull were a Championship club many expected to slide the other way. In 55 games he won 25, drew 14 and lost 16. The prize was the play-off final against Middlesbrough and a return to the Premier League for the first time since 2016-17.

The new season has not cooled the story. A 2-0 win over Manchester United was the kind of result promoted sides are not supposed to get in week one. Coventry followed. Six points, no goals conceded in those two league games, and a place in the conversation for August’s manager award before September has settled.

Aston Villa at home is the next test. Three opening wins would put Hull in rare company among promoted clubs. It would also be the first time this run meets a side built to live in the top half.

The timing of the contract is the club’s bet: lock the coach in while the glow is brightest, before the fixture list turns. Jakirović has already shown he can organise a team that punches up. Keeping that organisation when United are not on the calendar is the harder job the new deal now asks him to finish.

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