Hull City’s last Premier League campaign ended in heartbreak, Sergej Jakirovic must end eight years of pain

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Hull City have played in the Premier League on just five occasions in their history, yet they have had some incredibly iconic moments during those years.

Phil Brown’s half-time team talk on the pitch, the former Tigers boss singing on the pitch after survival was confirmed and Adama Diomande’s overhead kick on the opening day of 2016/17; the East Yorkshire outfit have had some memorable times.

Nevertheless, it has been eight years since the club were last in the top flight and they’ve not really shown any signs of returning since – bar a play-off push under Liam Rosenior in 2023/24.

Now, Sergej Jakirovic has to find a way to build a new dynasty at Hull. A three-window transfer fee ban has left the team behind their rivals, but under an experienced head coach they can slowly start to reach those heights again.

EFL Analysis has taken a look back at the last time the Tigers found themselves in the Premier League, and what went wrong that year.

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Hull City’s 2016/17 Premier League campaign started well but fizzled out

Mo Diame scored one of the great play-off final goals to send Hull to the Premier League in May 2016. However, a tough summer saw the club struggle for players and Steve Bruce resigned in July, just weeks before the season was set to start.

Mike Phelan took interim charge, and with champions Leicester City making their way to the MKM Stadium on the opening day, supporters may have had some worries about the year ahead. Yet, they started excellently, registering a superb 2-1 victory.

Diomande scored a stunning bicycle kick to start the season off, before they followed that win up in gameweek two against Swansea City in South Wales, winning 2-0.

However, Hull would go on to win just once more in the Premier League in 2016, losing 12 of the next 17 to see out the first half of the season.

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The Tigers ended the season poorly, relegation was inevitable

After a difficult end to the year, in 2017, the Tigers knew they had to come out fighting, and that they did. A 3-1 home win over AFC Bournemouth saw the East Yorkshire side climb to 18th, with Marco Silva now in charge.

A stalemate at Old Trafford followed, before an incredible 2-0 victory over Liverpool. Hull were fighting, and a strong spring saw the team make their way out of the relegation zone and towards safety.

With survival looking a real possibility, Silva’s team fell out of form and they lost five out of their last seven matches. A 4-0 defeat away to Crystal Palace in their penultimate game of the season confirmed relegation, before the Tigers were put to the sword by Tottenham Hotspur on the final day in a 7-1 loss.

Since then, a season in League One, among some tough times in the Championship has left Hull fans wondering if they can ever reach those heights again. But, under Jakirovic, they have the chance to build in a new era, although a return to the Premier League may still take some time.