Sergej Jakirovic Named Barclays Manager of the Month

Sergej Jakirovic has been named Barclays Manager of the Month after launching Hull City’s Premier League return with the sort of start newly promoted clubs dream about and giants fear.

Two games. Two wins. One statement.

The 49-year-old, who dragged Hull up via the Championship playoffs last season, has now written his name into club history. He becomes only the third Tigers boss ever to claim the award, following Phil Brown in September 2008 and Mike Phelan in August 2016. For Hull, these accolades do not come around often. They arrive in eras that feel like turning points.

This one might, too.

Jakirovic has also broken new ground for his country. He is the first Bosnian to win the Premier League’s monthly managerial prize, adding his name to a list that now features coaches from 21 different nations. From his own perspective, it is a personal milestone. For Bosnian football, it is a flag planted on England’s top table.

The manner of Hull’s start has given the award real weight. This is not a token nod to a plucky newcomer. It is a recognition of a team that walked back into the Premier League after nine years away and immediately bloodied a heavyweight nose.

Opening Weekend

On the opening weekend of the 2026/27 season, Hull stunned Manchester United with a 2-0 victory that sent a shock through the division. United, with all their resources and expectations, were out-thought and out-fought. Jakirovic set his side up with conviction, and they played like they belonged.

Subsequent Fixture

The momentum did not fade with the final whistle. It carried into a tense, awkward fixture that often trips promoted teams: a meeting with fellow newcomers Coventry City. These are the games that can drag teams back to reality. Hull refused that script. In a tight contest, they found a late winner and edged the battle of the promoted sides, turning a promising start into a perfect one.

Promotion via the playoffs is usually followed by a scramble for survival, not a surge into the spotlight. Yet Jakirovic has taken that chaotic energy and turned it into clarity. His Hull side have arrived with a plan, a punch, and now, a manager with a Premier League award in his hands.

The question is no longer whether Hull can cope at this level. It is how far Jakirovic can push them while this early-season belief still burns.