A club that spent nine years away from the top flight opened its return by beating Manchester United, then kept winning. The manager behind it just collected the sort of award that usually goes to the giants he was supposed to fear.
The Sergej Jakirović Manager of the Month award for August is the headline, but the story around it is what makes it land. Hull City were promoted as underdogs, tipped by plenty to go straight back down, and instead started the Premier League season with a swagger that got their Bosnian head coach voted the division’s best manager for the opening month. For a newly promoted side, that is a statement, and it came ahead of some very famous names.
Here is what he won, how his team earned it, and why it matters beyond one shiny trophy.
Bottom Line First
Sergej Jakirović, Hull City’s head coach, was named Premier League Manager of the Month for August 2026 after guiding the newly promoted club to two wins from its first three games, including a 2-0 defeat of Manchester United. He beat Arsenal’s Mikel Arteta, Chelsea’s Xabi Alonso and Manchester City’s Enzo Maresca to the award, becoming the first Bosnian to win it and only the third Hull manager ever to do so.
What Jakirović Actually Won
The prize is the Premier League Manager of the Month, the league’s monthly nod to the coach judged to have done the most across a set of fixtures. Winning it in August, the very first month of the campaign, means Jakirović out-performed the expectations placed on every manager in the division, and he did it in his top-flight debut. Yahoo Sports confirmed the award in its report on the announcement.
The company he kept makes it sharper. He finished ahead of Mikel Arteta, Xabi Alonso and Enzo Maresca, three managers at clubs with budgets Hull cannot dream of matching. He is also the first Bosnian to take the award, and only the third Hull City manager to win it, following Phil Brown in 2008 and Mike Phelan in 2016. For a promoted club, beating that field in month one is rare air.
The Start That Earned It
Awards like this are built on results, and Hull’s August results were the kind that make neutrals look twice. The Tigers took two wins from their first three games and stayed unbeaten through the month, a run that left them near the top of the early table with seven points before the fixtures multiplied.
The centerpiece was the opener. Hull welcomed Manchester United and beat them 2-0, and Jakirović was refreshingly blunt about how. He said his staff had watched United closely, including live, spotted their problems, and set his team up to exploit them. A late win over fellow promoted side Coventry City followed, the sort of result that separates teams who survive from teams who merely arrive.
From “I Failed” to the Premier League
The backstory is the part fans keep sharing. Jakirović arrived at Hull with a modest brief and delivered something far bigger, and he summed it up himself in a line that went around football. Reflecting on the season that got them up, he joked that he had come to keep Hull in the Championship, admitted “I failed,” then grinned that instead “we go to Premier League.” It was a charming way to describe overachievement.
The route was dramatic. Hull secured a play-off place on the final day of the Championship season, then navigated the play-offs to win promotion at Wembley, ending a nine-year absence from the top flight. The club rewarded the turnaround by handing Jakirović a new contract in early September, a move detailed on the club’s official site.
Why It Matters Beyond the Trophy
A monthly award does not keep a club up on its own, and the season is long. What August bought Hull is belief and a bit of breathing room, plus proof that the promotion was not a fluke of one good day. Newly promoted sides live or die on whether they can compete rather than just participate, and Jakirović has said plainly that competing is the point.
There is realism to keep in view. The fixture list gets harder, squads with far deeper resources tend to grind promoted teams down over a full season, and a bright month does not guarantee a comfortable spring. But Hull have banked early points and early confidence, which is exactly what a promoted club hopes for from its opening stretch. The rest of the campaign will test how durable it is.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Sergej Jakirović?
He is the Bosnian head coach of Hull City, who led the club to promotion to the Premier League through the Championship play-offs and then to a strong start in the top flight. In September 2026 he signed a new contract with the club.
What award did Jakirović win?
He won the Premier League Manager of the Month for August 2026, the league’s monthly award for the standout manager. It was his first such honor and came in his debut top-flight month as a manager.
How did Hull City perform in August?
Hull took two wins from their first three Premier League games and stayed unbeaten, including a 2-0 victory over Manchester United on the opening weekend and a late win over Coventry City, leaving them near the top of the early standings.
Which managers did Jakirović beat to the award?
He finished ahead of Arsenal’s Mikel Arteta, Chelsea’s Xabi Alonso and Manchester City’s Enzo Maresca, all managing clubs with far larger budgets than Hull City. He is the first Bosnian and third Hull manager to win the prize.
Can Hull City stay in the Premier League?
The strong August start improves their chances, but nothing is decided early. Newly promoted clubs face tough fixtures and deeper-resourced rivals across a long season, so the opening month is encouraging rather than conclusive.
The Bottom Line
Jakirović’s August award is a genuine feel-good story: a promoted club, a manager on his top-flight debut, a win over Manchester United, and a trophy claimed ahead of the sport’s biggest names. It does not promise safety, and Hull know the hard months are coming. But for one month the underdogs were the best in the league, and that is worth enjoying. For more results, rulings, and storylines, browse YouGottaRead’s Sports section, including our look at a recent Formula 1 disqualification ruling.
