Hull sack boss Rosenior after not making play-offs

Liam Rosenior has been dismissed by Hull after their seventh-place finish

Hull City head coach Liam Rosenior has been sacked after failing to guide his side into the Championship play-offs.

Rosenior, who had agreed a three-year deal in December, steered the Tigers to seventh place in the Championship this season – their first top-half finish since 2016.

Hull’s 1-0 defeat by Plymouth on Saturday meant they missed out on the play-offs by just three points.

But Rosenior’s efforts were enough to make him one of three nominees for the Championship manager of the season award, won by Ipswich boss Kieran McKenna.

Rosenior, 39, who was in charge for 18 months, spent five years as a Hull player and helped them to gain promotion to the Premier League in 2013.

He returned to the MKM Stadium to succeed Shota Arveladze in December 2022, having previously worked as assistant under both Phillip Cocu and Wayne Rooney at Derby.

'Our visions for the future are not aligned'

Hull owner and chairman Acun Ilicali said in a statement: “This has been the most difficult decision I have had to make as chairman of this wonderful football club.

“No matter how trying the circumstance, I have to remove personal sentiment from these moments and ensure the long-term vision of the club is at the centre of my thinking.

“Since Liam’s arrival, we have enjoyed an open working relationship and progress has undoubtedly been made over the course of his tenure. I thank him for all his work.

“However, it has become evident that our visions for the future are not aligned and I feel that now is the time to make a change.

“I know what this club can achieve, and we will not stop in the pursuit of that. We now have many highly talented players at our disposal and we will continue to invest and improve our playing personnel to give this club and its fans the success they deserve.”

A 2-1 win at Southampton in February lifted Rosenior's side into the top six

Rosenior, who also played at the top level for Fulham, Reading and Brighton, began his coaching career with the Seagulls before joining Derby in 2019.

The Rams appointed him as caretaker manager at the start of last season and he remained in charge for 12 games, leaving the club after Paul Warne’s arrival.

Having steered Hull to a 15th-place finish in 2022-23, Rosenior raised hopes of a promotion challenge after a strong start - including a 1-0 win at Leicester, which made them the only team to take points off the Foxes until November.

A run of five wins out of six in the new year – including four away from home – propelled the Tigers into the play-off positions.

But they then failed to win any of their next six games and defeat at Home Park ended any lingering hopes of overhauling either West Brom or Norwich to snatch sixth place.

'This will test relationship between owner and fans' - analysis

BBC Radio Humberside sports editor Mike White:

It’s caught a lot of people out, me included – the timing of this just seems a really odd decision.

When Liam Rosenior came in Hull were just outside the relegation places. He improved them defensively, then they rebuilt in the summer and this season City were in a great position at one point to be in the play-offs.

I remember asking the owner at the first game of the season at Norwich, what was the minimum expectation? And the answer was ‘top 10’.

They may say when they got to January they went to great lengths to strengthen a squad that was believed to be good enough to make the play-offs. They didn’t – but they (only) didn’t on the last day of the season and that’s where a lot of the questions will come.

The board may feel they’ve got a plan and Liam Rosenior had to be moved on for them to develop this plan further.

Everything they’ve done has been positive and fans have felt they’ve got their club back again, but this will be one that’s going to test that relationship for the first time between the ownership and the fanbase.