Ruben Selles and Acun Ilicali don't have to look far for blueprint that can lead Hull City to the Premier League | OneFootball

The Tigers avoided relegation in 2007 before reaching the top flight 12 months later

The 2024/25 season hasn't, for large parts, gone as planned for Hull City and owner, Acun Ilicali.

Ever since his £30m takeover of the club in January 2022, the Turkish media mogul has constantly spelled out his plans to end the club's lengthy exile from the Premier League.

The Tigers came as close as they've ever been since relegation from the top-flight in 2017 last season, but fell short of a play-off place under Liam Rosenior, despite having a rather star-studded squad for Championship level - estimated to have been €104.9m (£87.86m).

Despite losing the likes of Jacob Greaves and Jaden Philogene for eight-figure fees and many other key departures, followed by a scatter-gun approach throughout Tim Walter's solitary transfer window, despite success stories such as Charlie Hughes, who has excelled since making the step-up from League One outfit, Wigan Athletic.

Ever since his appointment in December, Ruben Selles has also placed an emphasis on developing talent such as Joe Gelhardt and Louie Barry - on loan from Leeds United and Aston Villa respectively - but hasn't been able to drag City fully away from danger, despite an upturn of form prior to the final international break.

However, he and Ilicali don't have to look too far for inspiration regarding progressing the club forward, if Championship status is to be preserved.

Hull City staved off relegation before a dream promotion season under Phil Brown

Similarly to Hull's start to the current campaign under Walter, Phil Parkinson - who had been poached from Colchester United following Peter Taylor's exit to Crystal Palace - had endured an extremely difficult start to life in HU3.

The man who guided the U's into the second tier then appointed former Derby County boss, Phil Brown as first-team coach, before the former full-back would take interim and latterly, permanent charge in January 2007 with City embroiled in a relegation battle.

Sam Allardyce's former assistant was able to galvanise the squad and embark on a run of one defeat in seven games between December 2006 and January 2007, before a run of one win in eight games - a Dean Windass-inspired 2-0 success over promotion winners, Birmingham City - proved exactly why City found themselves unable to steer clear of the drop before the business end of the season.

To their credit, Brown's men were able to pick up results in big-pressure encounters, which included a 2-1 victory against Luton Town at Kenilworth Road and a 4-0 rout over Southend United on home soil, with both opponents eventually relegated at the end of the season,

A season-defining run of five points from a possible nine in the run-in did the trick for City, with Windass' eighth goal of his initial temporary return to his boyhood club - and 20th for the season overall - proving the difference against Cardiff City at Ninian Park, all-but securing safety due to a far superior goal difference in comparison to Leeds United, before the Whites were eventually slapped with a 10-point deduction.

The following summer, and Brown's first pre-season in charge, saw a change of ownership in the form of Paul Duffen, who made his three-year plan of bringing top-flight football to East Yorkshire for the first time ever, more than clear.

This was reflected with the permanent signing of Windass, whilst the likes of Bryan Hughes, Henrik Pedersen, Richard Garcia, Wayne Brown and statement signings in the form of Jay-Jay Okocha and the club's first seven-figure incoming, Caleb Folan from Wigan Athletic.

Of course, the trajectory of City's success in 2007/08 has so often been pinpointed to specific events, such as the loan signing of 15-goal striker, Frazier Campbell and a 2-1 win at eventual champions West Bromwich Albion in February 2008, at a time when the 'Dare to Dream' slogan came to prominence in this part of the world.

The rest is history, as they say.

Despite failing to get themselves over the line in terms of automatic promotion, City were also victorious in the play-offs for the first time, seeing off Watford with a resounding 6-1 aggregate scoreline.

The club would then mark its maiden trip to Wembley with a 1-0 success over Bristol City courtesy of Windass' sublime volley, proving that momentum does truly exist within football, just 13 months after staring a potential return to League One after two seasons in the face.

This also saw City progress from League Two to the Premier League in the space of four years, with four players - Boaz Myhill, Andy Dawson, Ian Ashbee and Ryan France - going on to don the Black and Amber in all professional divisions of the English game.

Ruben Selles will hope to emulate Phil Brown blueprint at the MKM Stadium

Despite having a slightly greater managerial resume in terms of matches and top-level experience prior to joining Hull, Selles will look to use Brown's achievements as inspiration in a bid to restore City's previously upward trajectory.

The 43-year-old's clear mantra since his appointment has been to stave off relegation, having taken charge of his first match against Watford on December 11th with the club rooted to the bottom of the table.

Like Brown's initial period in the hotseat, City have proven a tough nut to crack for some of the Championship's top sides this season, having defeated both Sheffield United and Sunderland away from home by an aggregate 4-0 scoreline, as well as earning a point in a pulsating Yorkshire Derby against Leeds United on January 4th.

However, when the pressure has been on to gain vital points in relegation scraps, the Spaniard has endured mixed fortunes. For all their dominance and strong mentality which was on show in back-to-back home victories against Plymouth Argyle and Oxford United, defeats against Cardiff City and Luton Town, in which attacking threat was at a real premium, is a reminder as to why Hull find themselves in their current predicament.

It remains to be seen what transfer plans lie ahead for Selles, Ilicali and the recruitment team, especially with three key players still recovering from ACL injuries in the form of Liam Millar, Mohamed Belloumi and Eliot Matazo, with it extremely dependent on what division the club is playing in at the start of August.

However, if Championship status is to be guaranteed, with potential season-defining encounters against Derby County and Portsmouth wrapping up the season, City supporters will be hoping the stories of 2007 and 2008 can be emulated in the next calendar year.