Hull City reached the Premier League after the Tigers got the chance to be promoted

Jakirovic said before Saturday’s game that it has become his team. “collateral damage”. Southampton’s relegation from the play-offs, which meant Hull could travel to Middlesbrough instead of preparing for the game against Saints.

Despite their pre-match woes and being underdogs in the semi-final against third-placed Millwall, Hull got the job done on a warm day at Wembley.

Promotion has begun for the former Bosnia international’s Hull boss’ first season in English football.

Jakirovic won titles in Bosnia and Croatia before his brief stint in Turkey at the end of last season, but he was only known as Dinamo Zagreb boss during his time in the UK. Bayern Munich lost 9-2 Champions League in 2024-25. He was fired days later.

If he came to England to prove a point, then it was a very successful mission.

“When Olli scored, I was thinking, ‘I’m dreaming and this is a movie,'” Jakirovic said.

“I’m so emotional, a lot of players were crying with joy.

“It’s been an incredible journey. I don’t think we know everything we’ve achieved today. We’ve had a lot of problems.

“I’m so proud of everyone, especially the cast; they’re great actors.”