Hull City boss Sergej Jakirovic hailed the “big potential” of Liverpool winger Lewis Koumas after his debut goal for the Tigers.
The 20-year-old was targeted by Hull in the summer, but opted to join Birmingham City on loan instead.
It did not work out for Koumas in the Midlands but Hull kept a close eye and pounced when his Blues deal was ended early.
On his Hull debut, the versatile attacker stepped off the bench against Blackburn Rovers to score the decisive goal in a 1-0 win.
Sergej Jakirovic led Hull City to a 1-0 win over Blackburn Rovers at Ewood Park.placeholder image
Sergej Jakirovic led Hull City to a 1-0 win over Blackburn Rovers at Ewood Park. | Martin Rickett/PA Wire
Hull City boss hails Liverpool winger
Jakirovic said: “He’s Liverpool school, he’s a Liverpool winger, when I saw him in the summer, he was my wish but he chose Birmingham.
“This is normal, in that situation you can choose a club in a better situation. But there is no ego from my side, I respect every player’s decision but now when we had the opportunity to take him I said immediately we must take him.
“He’s so young, such big potential with a lot of experience in this league and especially in the January transfer period, there is no adaptation and I think he helps us.
“I think he can help us a lot. He’s a young player but he played in Stoke, now in Birmingham and this is the reason we took him immediately. I think he can improve this group a lot.”
Lewis Koumas marked his Hull City debut with a decisive goal.placeholder image
Lewis Koumas marked his Hull City debut with a decisive goal. | Martin Rickett/PA Wire
Hull City’s ‘fight’ hailed
Reflecting on the win, Jakirovic saluted the way in which his players fought for each other when things were not going to plan.
He said: “When sometimes when we struggled, we were fighting for each other. We were very pragmatic.
“If the game had finished 0-0, I would be also happy but we used our one chance and we are really happy with these three points.”
The Blackburn Rovers view
Blackburn boss Valerien Ismael, however, was not pleased following a fresh blow for his side.
He said: “I don’t know why it’s so complicated. It’s not about the performance today, not about the desire, the mentality.
“What we have to complain about is we have to take our chances. At some point you have to take the chance. When you dominate the game like this, you are on the front foot on the top of your subject, you have to get the reward and to make sure you score the goal.
“All of a sudden in the second half, from nothing, we concede that goal. After that, late in the game, it’s tough for the players because they are trying to give everything. We see completely another Rovers than we saw maybe a couple of weeks ago due to the injuries we had.
“The power is there, the willingness is there, so any reason why we’re not winning at home, why it’s so complicated this season? So now we have to keep that performance, to make sure that when we get the chance, we take our chance.”