Hull City: Acun Ilicali must chase Nottingham Forest and Swansea success to replace Liam Rosenior - View | OneFootball

Hull City took the surprise decision to sack manager Liam Rosenior on Tuesday, three days after the club’s final game of the 2023/24 Championship season.

It was quite an impressive campaign for the Tigers, as Rosenior managed to put together a side that played some attractive football and got the results to go with it but fell just short of the play-offs.

Hull finished the season in seventh place with 70 points, three points behind sixth-place Norwich City.

Defeat on the final day of the season against Plymouth Argyle meant the club missed out on the play-offs, which has surely played a part in Rosenior being removed from his position despite the owner's suggestions it was based on style of play.

The Championship side has some time to find a suitable replacement, given that we are now in the off-season.

It now seems that Hull are keen to find a replacement as soon as possible, with the Hull Daily Mail reporting that they want to find a replacement by next week and Danny Rohl, Marti Cifuentes, and Steve Cooper are under consideration by the club.

All three managers are good options for the club, but given what he has done in his career, it should be Cooper that is considered a priority by the club.

Liam Rosenior's sacking at Hull City was controversial

There is no doubt that many Hull fans will be upset and disappointed with the news that Rosenior has been sacked.

The former Tigers player has been exceptional in his role since he arrived at the club in December 2022.

The 39-year-old came in and made sure the club remained in the second tier, and then this season, he has built a team that, as mentioned, has played some very good football and has impressed many.

Hull weren’t in play-off contention by chance; throughout the season, they deserved to be in the mix, and it was just unfortunate that they missed out on the final day of the season. It should be forgotten that this was Hull’s first top-half finish in the Championship since 2016.

Acun Ilicali’s decision to sack Rosenior is a controversial one and may well split the fanbase.

The young coach signed a new three-year deal in December with the expectation that he would be leading the club forward in years to come, had been nominated for the Championship manager of the season award (beaten by Ipswich Town boss Kieran McKenna), and looked well set to kick on after a strong 2023/24 campaign.

Steve Cooper's success at Swansea and Nottingham Forest

The decision has been made and Hull are now searching for a replacement.

As reported by the Hull Daily Mail, the club has Sheffield Wednesday's Rohl, QPR's Cifuentes, Cooper and Tim Walter on their list of possible new managers.

All managers that offer different things and in their own way have achieved success, but it should be Cooper that is the priority for the Tigers, given what he has done in the second tier over several seasons.

The Hull owner will likely want a big name appointed, possibly someone who has a reputation for getting teams out of the division, and the former Forest boss fits this category.

Cooper first started to earn a reputation in football when working in Liverpool’s academy, where he worked with some very special young talents who are now playing for their first team.

The 44-year-old then worked with England’s under-16s and guided them to the Under-17 World Cup. That success really got him on the football map, and he then moved into his first senior management role at Swansea City.

Cooper took charge of the Swans in the 2019/20 season, and he was able to guide the club to a top-six finish, with them just falling short in the play-off semi-final.

That spurred the Swansea boss on, as the next season he once again guided the club to the play-offs, with them this time finishing in fourth place and making it to the final. Unfortunately, his side came up short as they were beaten by Brentford.

His success with Swansea earned him several plaudits, and in the 2021/22 campaign, he joined Nottingham Forest and guided them away from the relegation zone into a play-off spot come the end of the season.

Cooper then continued this fabulous wave and guided Forest through the play-offs and into the Premier League, cementing himself in East Midlands folklore.

He was a firm favourite at the City Ground, and with plenty of backing from the club’s board, he helped keep the club in the Premier League at the first time of asking, despite pressure building. He wasn’t given the same time this season but left Forest with his reputation still intact, and he is now waiting for his next job in management.

Steve Cooper must be a priority for Hull City

Hull should make Cooper their priority, even if he is reluctant as he may be waiting for a job to become available in the Premier League.

The Tigers may be able to convince him given the owner's ability to back the manager and the resources that are available.

Cooper may be holding out for a bigger job, but the Tigers should be making him their priority this summer, as his time in the Championship has been nothing but exceptional.

The former Forest boss has a very impressive record in the division, with him winning 63 of his 130 games, drawing 37, and losing just 30. He has picked up 226 points in the second tier, averaging 1.74 per game, as per Transfermarkt.

Cooper has been there and done it in the Championship and has never finished lower than sixth in the league. This is exactly what Ilicali will want when looking for a new manager, while Cooper has also been known for working with young talents and letting them grow and get better, and he can also play some very attractive football.

Rohl and Cifuentes are among the other options, both have done exceptionally well this season, but neither has achieved what Cooper has and they have only been managing in the Championship for a short period of time.

Cooper, on the other hand, has got a few seasons under his belt and has experience of getting teams around the play-offs and into the Premier League.

It seems a win-win for Hull to appoint Cooper but convincing him might not be easy.