New Hull City owner Acun Ilicali says he is going to undertake a ‘revolution’ to get the club back to the Premier League and promised £2 tickets in order to make the Tigers’ stadium ‘hell’ for visiting teams.
Ilicali completed his takeover of the East Yorkshire side last week and has ambitious plans for a return to the top flight. The Turkish media mogul sacked Grant McCann on Tuesday and has since brought in former Rangers striker Shota Arveladze as manager.
The Tigers sit 19th in the Championship, nine points clear of the bottom three and 15 points off the play-offs. Ilicali admitted it may take two or three years for the club to get back to the Premier League, he insisted promotion is still possible this season.
New Hull owner Acun Ilicali wants to undertake a ‘revolution’ to return to the Premier League
He also confirmed star striker Keane Lewis-Potter is not for sale and outlined his aims to build a team around the youngster.
‘We got a crazy offer for Potter. But if you ask me for this transfer window, I will say that I didn’t even hesitate or ask the question shall we sell him or not.
‘Even if they pay £20million, I will not sell him because I want a strong team. Let’s see Potter with good transfers around him, let’s see his talent up to which limit he goes. If you ask me if I make money I’m never happy, I’m only happy if I have the success. Potter is one part of our future success so I will never sell him at the moment.
‘Two weeks ago people were talking about relegation, relegation, relegation but I was thinking about promotion, promotion, promotion. My brain always works for the positives. That makes me dream. When you have the positiveness you dream.
Ilicali, a businessman and TV personality in Turkey, completed his takeover of Hull last week
The new owner insists star striker Keane Lewis-Potter will not be sold this month
He is desperate to keep the team as strong as possible in his bid to return to the top-flight
‘I will be dreaming for this year too, why not? To make the biggest surprise of the Championship this year.’
When asked about Ilicali’s ambitious plans, Arveladze said: ‘That is why we’re here.
‘I believe without pressure, we will never have pleasure. I believe pressure makes us stronger. I know how tough it is, I know how many games there are.
‘I know it’s not just [I] come in the dressing room, speak different, it’s a process. These 19 games it’s like a season. I believe I will have time. It’s a fantastic group.
‘I think I watched the last 20 games I believe. Five teams maybe have a little bit different style of playing. The rest play a very similar system. It makes you feel like you can make a difference. Big numbers of teams are close to each other. It’s still [down to] a bit of luck.’
But Hull currently sit 15 points adrift of the Championship playoff places down in 19th
Ilicali also outlined his plans to fill the Tigers’ MKM Stadium. Several fans boycotted matches during Assem and Ehab Allam’s ownership of the club, but Ilicali said he will put ‘crazy’ discounts in place for fans in order to get them back in the ground.
‘We will make revolutions, we will make surprises for them. I will try to make all the fans happy. We need the fans.
‘I’m asking our fans from now to support our team as much as they can but I want more people in the stadium, more attendance. I want them to just give as much as they can so that we can be a stronger team. A team is more strong with their fans.
‘I want this team to be very united and to be a family. I want our fans to show their quality starting from tomorrow, try to fill the stadium as much as they can. I love British football sounds. I want the highest sound tomorrow.
‘We’re going to make a revolution in two weeks, we cannot do it now because of technical problems, we are going to make very important discounts. I’m going to make crazy discounts for the children. I want to see all the children in the stadium. I think children are the future of this club.
Ilicali has outlined his plans to introduce £2 tickets in a bid to turn the MKM stadium into ‘hell’
He is keen to generate a fierce atmosphere and make it a difficult place for teams to visit
‘I’m crazy, they [vice-chairman Tan Kesler and Jim Rodwell CEO] have to stop me but I will say it, £2 for the children under 16.
‘I have to say it because I want them to come, they are trying to stop me but I don’t care I want them to come. For seniors, we’re going to make £2 and for our members, season holders, we’re going to make £2 for one friend who is coming.
‘I don’t want to make money from the stadium, I want more supporters. Let’s make this stadium such a place, hell, for the other teams. He [Kesler] made a joke about Hull and hell, let’s make this stadium such a high atmosphere stadium so that the other teams understand that it’s not easy to get points from here.
‘We will do what we can. I want our beautiful supporters to do what we can. It’s going to be like a chain reaction. We will support our supporters by making good deals money wise. They will support us in the stadium, giving their heart and support. The team will be more successful.’