Ex-manager who oversaw 359 PL games hails Hull City boss, but offers Championship warning
Hull City boss Liam Rosenior has earned high praise from a number of people since taking over last season, with the latest to laud the 39-year-old being Martin O’Neill.
Hull City appointed Rosenior in November last year. He went on to guide the Tigers to a commendable 15th place finish in the Championship and he now has his side looking like top six hopefuls in the second tier.
Many people have spoken fondly of Rosenior this seaosn, with one being talkSPORT pundit Simon Jordan.
And speaking on talkSPORT recently, O’Neill – who’s managed the likes of Leicester City, Celtic, Aston Villa, and Republic of Ireland among others – had his say on Rosenior after hearing him talking about his Hull City side.
As quoted by Hull Live, the 71-year-old O’Neill said:
“He is enjoying it, but I thought the telling comment he made was about getting the players to believe in you. It’s absolutely vital they believe in you, because if you hit a bad spell then you still have to have that belief.”
Hull City sit in 4th place of the Championship table as things stand. Rosenior’s side won 3-1 at Stoke City last time out to remain unbeaten since the opening day of the campaign.
But at some point this season, a bad spell is sure to hit.
“If you have got some belief in yourself then that can help you through these bad periods,” O’Neill continued. “When you start losing a lot of football matches, your own self-belief causes you a problem or two and then a couple of the boys in the dressing room think ‘let’s see what he’s like now’ – maybe that hasn’t happened yet.
“It looks as if he’s on an upward curve which is really good news. He’s a smart, intelligent young man.”
O’Neill oversaw more than 700 games during a prolonged 32-year managerial career, with 359 of those coming in the Premier League.
Hull City and the season ahead
It’s certainly rosey for Rosenior and Hull City right now. But across a 46-game season, there’s bound to be rough patches.
Those patches are yet to come for Hull City but when they do, it’ll be a real test of Rosenior and his Hull side. But for the time being, it seems like Rosenior has the players on board and like O’Neill says, that’ll be vital when the rough patches kick in.
Up next for the Tigers is a home game v Plymouth Argyle in the Championship this weekend.
