Sporting director Jared Dublin says Hull City can dream after a fairly pragmatic and very focussed transfer window set them up for a Championship promotion push.
The Tigers host Leicester City on Tuesday on the back of one point from three matches but still well-placed to finish in the play-offs. It would put them three games from a third promotion to the Premier League in less than two decades.
Hull went into the campaign tipped by many for relegation after financial issues hampered their summer recruitment. But two good transfer windows – despite not being allowed to buy players or even pay loan fees – has encouraged ambitions of a top-six finish.
"I think it has to be when you look at the league table," said Dublin when asked if it was the ambition.
MID-SEASON SIGNING: Lewis Koumas (Image: Carl Recine/Getty Images)placeholder image
MID-SEASON SIGNING: Lewis Koumas (Image: Carl Recine/Getty Images)
"From the club's side, we went into the season with ambitions of pushing into the top half, the top 10. Can we push a bit more?
"Sergei (Jakirovic, Hull coach) has done fantastically to deliver on that. Now can we improve and maintain?
"It's a lot of football to be played, a lot of key players coming back from injury, but I'm optimistic about the final 14 games, maybe more."
Dreaming is owner Acun Ilicali's way, and his chairmanship has seen lots of creative players imported, but this window brought six signings who had played in the division.
GOOD PLANNING Hull City chairman/owner Acun Ilicali (elft) and sporting director Jared Dublin (Image: Jonathan Gawthorpe)placeholder image
GOOD PLANNING Hull City chairman/owner Acun Ilicali (elft) and sporting director Jared Dublin (Image: Jonathan Gawthorpe)
"We're really happy with the players we've brought in," said Dublin.
"We prioritised Championship experience and the adaptability of certain players. You don't want players to have to take that big three-month integration period.
"We will always bring in someone like a Mo Belloumi from Portugal or a Gustavo Puerta from Bayer Leverkusen, a Colombian international, to invest in young talent.
"But we wanted to blend that with Championship experience that already knew the league, didn't have to adapt to the tempo, and players who've been there and done it before with regards to promotions.
"Semi Ajayi, Kieran Dowell, John Egan, John Lundstram and Oli McBurnie can really push standards and have that experience to hang their hat on when things get tight.
"As you have the ebbs and flows of the season you want to make sure you have that calmness about you."
Another thing that pointed to a good window was the fact that, unusually under Ilicali, no business was done on deadline day.
“A quiet deadline day hopefully means you've done all your work beforehand," said the American.
"We were comfortable with the business we'd done and had a quiet pizza with Sergej, his staff and Martin Hodges' recruitment staff on deadline day.
"We did our work early, got the right players we felt would improve this group and give us a different dynamic in some areas of the pitch.”
Dublin said spending restrictions imposed on Hull “focusses you – you can only shop in this aisle.
"But you're still focussing to find quality that could improve us. You're really trying to drill into what does this group need? What does this gaffer need?
"Now we're making sure we do the due diligence both for a Premier League list and Championship list.
"We don't want to get to May and feel undercooked for what could be a fantastic summer and next season for the club and the city."