BIG INTERVIEW: LIAM ROSENIOR
Hull City's season is hardly off to a flyer. Downed by a controversial late goal at Norwich on the opening day, the Tigers were then bundled out of the Carabao Cup by League Two Doncaster.
It's all a far cry from last year, when a lavish summer outlay yielded an early berth at the Championship summit and ignited hopes of a dominant new era under Turkish owner Acun Ilicali.
How quickly things unravelled. By the end of September, Hull were a point above the relegation zone, Shota Arveladze had been jettisoned from the dugout and promotion aspirations were replaced by a familiar sense of dread.
It's why Liam Rosenior, who steered Hull to safety after taking charge in November, isn't too bothered about their dire first week. “It's easy to over-analyse the start of the season,” says the 39-year-old, who spent five years on Humberside as a player and won promotion to the Premier League in 2013.
“If we'd lost 2-1 away at Norwich to a last-minute goal in the middle of February, nobody would have batted an eyelid. Then we play against Doncaster and make nine changes. So close to pre-season, that's necessary, but it's always got the potential to be disruptive.
“For me, it's about not getting too carried away by results and focussing on the process. If we keep doing the right things, results will naturally turn around.
“You look at Hull's start last year. You look at Coventry, Middlesbrough, Luton. They were all in the bottom three at some point.
“But they all kicked on in the second half of the season and ended up in the play-offs. Nobody wants to lose games. But at the business end of the season, when the games really matter, that's when we want to make sure we're in and around it.”
Resolve
Having forged a hitherto absent defensive resolve, Rosenior piloted Hull serenely into mid-table but was prevented from progressing any further by an abundance of draws.
It was certainly not what Ilicali intended when he splashed out £11.5m on new signings last summer, but that outlay – the highest in the entire Championship – was actually part of the problem.
Hull bought 15 players, hailing from 11 different nations. While the likes of Ozan Tufan, Dogukan Sinik and Benjamin Tetteh were talented players with international pedigree, they had never lived in England or experienced the unique challenges of the Championship.
Some performed. Some didn't. All blew hot and cold, epitomised by eventual top-scorer Oscar Estupinan, who plundered seven goals in August and six in the subsequent nine months.
It all added up to a frustrating hodgepodge that only occasionally functioned as a team.
“When you sign players from abroad, there has to be a level of patience and understanding,” he says.
“Some of them don't speak the language. Some of them have children starting a foreign school for the first time. Their wives and girlfriends need support with all sorts of little things, like going to see a doctor.
“All of that stuff is so important to a player's performance on the pitch, and that's before they even get round to understanding what's being asked of them tactically.
“We work really hard as a club to make sure the players are looked after and I look at every member of that squad as a person first. I wouldn't be doing my job properly if that wasn't the case.
Physicality
“It wasn't easy for a lot of those guys but they've now had a year in the Championship and they've actually adapted really well. They know the demands of the level, the physicality and the quality.
“People like Adama Traore, Ozan Tufan, Allahyar Sayyadmanesh they're like new signings for me. They now understand the English culture, not just on the pitch but off the pitch as well.”
In terms of actual new signings, 20-year- old striker Liam Delap has arrived on loan from Manchester City and got off the mark against Norwich, while midfielder Xavier Simons (Chelsea) and forward Aaron Connolly (Brighton) have both turned last season's loans into permanent deals over the summer.
According to Rosenior, the best is yet to come with five players – including his top two targets – set to sign before the September 1 deadline.
One of those players is believed to be Crystal Palace's young winger Jesurun Rak-Sakyi, who scored 15 goals on loan at Charlton last season and is also a target for Leicester.
“I'm excited for what we've done,” he added. ded. “I can say that because of the talks I've been having and the calls I've been getting. It's going to change the whole energy and mood of this club.”
Rosenior himself has long been touted as one of the most promising young coaches in the country.
Promising
After working with Brighton's Under-23 team, he joined Derby's coaching staff under Phillip Cocu and remained in post when Wayne Rooney took charge, helping to guide the club through relegation and financial crisis after a boardroom meltdown.
When Rooney departed last summer, Rosenior stepped up but was sacked – to the anger of many supporters despite winning seven of his 12 games in charge.
“I came into manage ment with my eyes wide open,” says Rosenior, whose father Leroy spent 11 years managing sides in the lower reaches of the English pyramid. “I've watched. I've learned. I knew from when I was a child that I wanted to be a manager, and I've spent my life preparing for it. In terms of my age, I'm young. But in terms of the work I've done and the life I've led, I think I'm quite experienced.
“As a kid, I saw my dad get sacked more than once so I knew it would happen to me at some point.
“There's a good saying that you're not a proper manager until you've been sacked.
“Well, I've already had that at Derby, so I know what it feels like.
“I've been through it, I've come back, and I've actually jumped to a higher level at a club with loads of potential.”
But how much potential? What is a realistic aim for the Tigers?
“What's realistic is what you define as realistic,” says Rosenior. “I've just seen Luton get promoted to the Premier League, so why can't we?
“That's the aim, but we are probably one of 18 or 20 teams who are thinking the exact same thing. It's about doing it, not saying it.”
BOSS IS BAFFLED BY BAN…
LIAM Rosenior says he remains mystified by the one-game touchline ban meted out for abusing officials during Hull's defeat at Norwich. The Tigers boss was sent off in the aftermath of Adam Idah's 96th-minute winner for the Canaries.
Referees have been ordered to clamp down on abusive behaviour this season, with West Brom's Carlos Corberan also dismissed from the touchline on the opening weekend. “I've always been respectful to the officials, and that was actually the case last weekend as well,” said Rosenior, who was also fined £2,000 and prevented from carrying out post-match interviews.
“I still don't know why I was sent off. I threw my jacket down because we conceded with the last kick of the game, and also because I was frustrated that the decisions that led to the goal weren't correct. I didn't abuse any individual.
“When there's a new law or directive, referees will naturally look for that first. That's something you have to contend with every season. Am I happy about it? No. But we move on and I focus on things I can affect.”
