New City owners will face pivotal Mccann decision
WILL CITY BOSS SURVIVE AT HELM?
Hull City’s new owners will walk into a huge decision from day one of their new era at the MKM Stadium, and one they may not have bargained for. Acun Ilicali’s proposed takeover of the Championship club is nearing completion with the final details being ironed out with an expectation the keys could be handed over within the next 10 days.
There has been speculation surrounding the future of head coach Grant Mccann for almost as long as he’s been in post at City, but with the arrival of new management, change in the hot seat often follows.
Mccann himself admitted as much last week when he spoke about losing his job at Peterborough United in the immediate aftermath of a takeover.
It’s nothing new, it goes with the territory and invariably new custodians of a football club want their own man, somebody they’ve picked - a clean slate.
And in truth, a manager appointed under a previous regime continuing under a new one can often feel like a death sentence hanging on their door, awaiting for the first dip in results before a change is made, it rarely helps anyone by delaying the inevitable - there are however, exceptions to that norm.
A month ago, Mccann’s departure looked inevitable with City mired in the bottom three of the Championship with just two wins in their opening 16 games and five defeats on the bounce, the outlook did not look great it has to be said.
There seemed little hope of a renaissance and the change in ownership felt like it would deliver an inevitable change, one fans had been calling for on the terraces at Stoke City, Huddersfield Town and Luton Town, as well as the MKM Stadium following some crushing reversals.
Despite those results, Mccann’s spirit remained intact as did his players’ desire to fight for their manager, yes results were poor but performances did not reflect a lost dressing room.
Far from it, City’s players were giving their all but unfortunately were coming up short when it came to quality.
A month on and City have won four games in a row going from three points adrift of safety to five points clear, and suddenly the outlook is a great deal more promising.
They’ve tightened up at the back, started to find goals throughout the team and are playing with a confidence we saw so regularly last season.
For all the talk about formations and whether Mccann changed to a 3-5-2 system through necessity or desire, what matters most is that results have finally began to turn, with performances improving and the players, as they have done all season, showing a desire that shows they are behind their manager.
For proof of how quickly things have changed, Mccann must now be favourite to claim the November Manager of the Month award for collecting four wins and just that solitary defeat at West Brom.
While the takeover will be welcomed almost universally by everyone connected with Hull City, with it brings a degree of uncertainty.
Staff within the club will be concerned what the future holds for their jobs, will there be an increase or decrease in personnel, what other changes will be made by those making the decisions, upheaval is inevitable and has an impact on people and their performance.
At the moment, City have a stable dressing room, one which is well-drilled and knows its jobs, one which is finally getting to grips with the cut and thrust of Championship football.
Twenty games into this 46-game marathon,
City have arrived and finally look at ease with operating at this level, to change now would be a huge gamble - the dressing room could become unsettled and suddenly the unity which has been carefully sewn together over the course of the past 18 months could be harmed.
Bringing in a manager with little experience of the Championship will, of course, go one of two ways, but with a settled squad adapting to the expectations that comes with being involved in one of Europe’s toughest leagues, perhaps a wiser move would be to continue as we are while observing how things continue.
Of course, if City were to lose at Reading this weekend and then back it up with a poor festive period, then opinion may well shift back. However, it’s vital a plan is forged and not one hastily hatched which brings change for the sake of it.
There will be a number of supporters and indeed commentators on this club who remain firm in their belief that with the departure of the Allams, Mccann should follow quickly behind, and they are entitled to that opinion, of course, but there is a growing belief that feel the current boss, like his players, are warming to the task of Championship football, learning from their mistakes and improving as they go and worthy of a little more perseverance.
No decision has yet been made on what will happen once the takeover is signed and sealed, and Mccann can do no more than continue proving the doubters wrong.