Sergej Jakirović: "We'll do everything to get in the Prem"

0:00 I imagine right now you're feeling 10 ft tall.

0:03 Yes, I completely agree.

0:05 Great feeling, amazing feeling.

0:07 If somebody told me that we will be in this stage

0:10 of season in the final at Wembley, this is like dream.

0:16 So, thanks to the to the players.

0:19 They were fantastic today.

0:20 They They performed very very good and stick to the our tactical plan.

0:25 We were very patient and then this is for them

0:28 and for us all for the club great award.

0:31 How did you do it?

0:32 What was the tactical plan?

0:34 The tactical plan that we put extra

0:37 center-back because after I watched this first leg,

0:40 I saw that we will have maybe problems

0:43 because they coming with two fullbacks very high.

0:46 They tried to fill pockets with two

0:48 wingers and striker plus one extra extra midfielder.

0:52 So, that we good that we have good balance, good control, stability.

0:56 And also we tried to press them when when was

0:59 it possible to press them with the two wingers and only.

1:02 And we were patient there.

1:04 We We knew that our chances will come through counter-attack maybe second half

1:09 and they tried to risk more especially when the Alex put second striker.

1:13 I think that was easier for us because they are

1:16 three V two behind and one V one overall the pitch.

1:21 So, we used our chances and great goal from Belloumi

1:24 and Joe was well and that was great substitution for us.

1:28 I was going to say, does it make you feel good

1:30 as a coach when your two subs come on and score?

1:33 Joe with his first touch.

1:34 You know, always it's on the coach.

1:36 If I made some substitution there,

1:38 if they will not bring impact, then I made mistake.

1:41 This is It's the life of a coach.

1:43 You're a genius or a fool.

1:44 There's no in between.

1:46 Mostly fool.

1:47 But no, Mo Belloumi, we tried to spare him because of his condition

1:52 because he was very tired after this game, first game.

1:56 Some problems with hamstring, some Achilles.

1:59 So, we try to spare him.

2:00 Plan was that we will put him in second half.

2:03 Also, Liam has a cramp there cramps, yeah?

2:06 And Jovo Jovo is capable to play all all three positions in front.

2:11 So, that was good decision for us.

2:14 That's the strategy and that's the tactics,

2:16 but tell me about the character of your players.

2:18 I think that all season we showed great great character.

2:21 Great character because since day one, since I arrived here,

2:24 it's very nice group of the players,

2:26 very hard working, togetherness, chemistry between them.

2:31 I I think even this embargo That's what helped you.

2:34 I think yes, because they they stick together all all all season.

2:38 They fighting even we we lost some games there, but you you you can't tell them

2:44 anything because they gave every game everything.

2:46 So, football is like this, but I'm very proud

2:50 on them and congratulations [snorts] to them one more time.

2:54 You're one game away Mhm.

2:56 from the Premier League.

2:58 Mhm.

2:58 We will do everything to get in the Prem

3:00 because now it's 90 minutes plus extra time,

3:02 I don't know, penalty, whatever.

3:04 Nobody [snorts] We will try We will prepare everything.

3:07 We will see tomorrow who will be our opponent.

3:09 We know everything about Southampton and Middlesbrough because we

3:12 faced them already two times and final final is final.

3:16 Final You don't play final, you try to win final.

3:19 This is This is my opinion and we will do everything to to get the to the Prem.

3:24 What's the difference?

3:25 You mean you don't play, you try to win.

3:26 What's the difference then?

3:27 Somebody You can say we will play final, but I wanted to win final.

3:33 I don't care about about even performance,

3:38 but you can control a lot about I miss [snorts]

3:42 my one word before that for I cannot remember now,

3:47 but just I don't care I don't care I don't care.

3:51 I don't care.

3:52 Because in football the result is everything.

3:55 What would it mean if you could take Hull City?

3:58 A dream.

3:59 The best.

3:59 Even now when we are in the final, this is maybe since I'm coach the best

4:03 the best achievement what I did what I did.

4:06 Really?

4:06 You've won things in your career already.

4:08 Yes, I won but in our circumstances with what we had,

4:12 our problems and everything, to get the final it's amazing.

4:16 Okay, if you do I promise you we'll have a bigger ceiling for you.

4:20 At Wembley.

4:21 Thank you very much.

4:21 I'm going to support you on Friday about it and you know,

4:23 we haven't really been fancied all season.

4:25 We didn't we didn't get fancied to get in the playoffs.

4:27 We didn't get fancied to get through this tie and we've shut

4:30 a few people up tonight and I thought the boys were excellent.

4:32 Your biggest strength has been the underdogs, isn't it?

4:34 Maybe so, yeah.

4:35 Maybe it's better when the bookies don't fancy us.

4:39 [sighs]

4:39 Yeah, I think just that that that togetherness in the team with the boys.

4:42 I think you can see it tonight.

4:43 The two lads that that come out the team from Friday

4:46 come on tonight and and made the impact and changed

4:48 the game for us and it just shows not only

4:50 the quality of the that that we have in the squad

4:52 but it shows the the how together we are

4:54 and and the character of all the lads to to be taken

4:57 out the team and then to come on and change

4:58 the game that that is outstanding buzzing for both the lads.

5:01 Tight first half, few chances.

5:03 Yeah, yeah, like you say, I knew it was going to be similar to Friday,

5:06 you know, no one wants to give anything up easily.

5:07 It's you don't want to give the game away.

5:09 You know, we felt we felt if we kept

5:11 a clean sheet tonight that we would win the game.

5:13 We knew we'd have chances.

5:14 I had a couple and one header in the first half,

5:16 maybe one in the second half and we just knew it was a matter

5:19 of time and Mo showed that little bit of quality that he has

5:21 and then and then Joff and then after that it was more about just

5:23 the the counter-attacking and killing them

5:25 on the counter and that's exactly what we've done.

5:27 Obviously it was the goal but at what point did you feel you were taking charge?

5:30 I think, you know, we were pretty confident the whole game.

5:33 I think they had maybe a 10-15 minute spell

5:34 in the first half which we knew there was going to be.

5:37 We knew we knew we had to keep their their crowd

5:40 quiet and apart from that 10-15 minutes I think we did.

5:43 And then, you know, when we came out into the second half I

5:45 think we we we dominated pretty much the most of the second half.

5:48 And then obviously when we scored the second goal, we sat back.

5:50 But yeah, I felt reasonably comfortable the whole game.

5:52 Don't take anything away from Millwall.

5:53 They've been brilliant all season and it's and it's

5:55 a tough way for them to go out.

5:57 But someone has to win and someone has to lose and I'm

5:59 I'm thankful that we're on the right side of it this evening.

6:01 Thoughts on a visit to Wembley now?

6:03 Yeah, I was in last time I went there was

6:06 against [snorts] Man City in a semi-final of the FA Cup.

6:08 So hopefully it won't be that hard.

6:11 [laughter] But no, we'll be watching we'll be watching eagerly to see we've got.

6:14 But you know, we've we've had a brilliant season.

6:16 Like I say, we was fancied to go down at the start of the season and to get

6:18 to Wembley and have the one game away to being in the in the big leagues again.

6:22 That's exactly what we we trying to be.

6:23 So over the moon, mate.

6:25 And cuz you're the underdogs, do you care who you play?

6:27 Nah.

6:28 Not really, mate.

6:28 No, it's it don't really change much.

6:30 You know, we'll we'll do we'll have a game plan.

6:32 But we've played everyone this season,

6:33 you know, so we know what everyone's about.

6:35 And yeah, just like I said, watch the game tomorrow.

6:37 Just nice and relaxed.

6:39 I don't think I'd have watched it if we'd have got beat.

6:40 So it'll be nice to tune into that.

6:42 And then yeah, few days off and then then go

6:44 again and prepare for for the big one at Wembley.

6:46 Here he is, Louie, hometown boy.

6:48 How's that feel?

6:49 Just incredible.

6:51 Yeah, it is it's cliche, but it's hard to put into words.

6:54 I know exactly what this means to to the lads, to myself,

6:57 to everybody inside that dressing room and and everybody at the club.

7:00 As soon as we secured that that final sort

7:02 of promotion spot on the final day in such dramatic fashion,

7:05 we we said sort of the task ahead now is to go win

7:08 win a football match over two legs and and give ourselves a chance.

7:11 And I've said it before,

7:12 this this team just needs a chance and a glimmer of hope.

7:14 And we've shown all year we've we've got more than more than enough inside

7:17 that dressing room to to go on and achieve what what we want to achieve.

7:20 What is it about this band of brothers?

7:23 Exactly how you said it.

7:24 That's what this this squad has been built on.

7:26 We had difficulties at the club at the start of the year with the embargo.

7:30 And and credit to the club and and the people

7:31 at the top of the club for assembling a team.

7:33 Not just a team of good players, but a team of good men.

7:35 And I think for me, certainly as captain,

7:37 that's that's what I'd always put first at a human level

7:40 and and what what sort of lads and characters you bring into the building

7:42 and the club was unbelievable at doing that and we've assembled

7:45 a a group of men that enjoy working together every single day,

7:48 a group of staff that buy into everything that we do.

7:50 And um yeah, I think you saw

7:52 that in in every sort of inch of the performance tonight.

7:55 Talk to us about the manager because he arrives when you know,

7:58 you've had the transfer bans and it is a a band of brothers as such,

8:02 thrown together but certainly not strategic.

8:05 How did he instill this winning mentality that you've got?

8:08 Yeah, I think one of mine in the first

8:10 the first conversation me and the manager had was

8:12 was obviously about the embargo and and we addressed

8:14 it and and I said to him very very clearly,

8:16 "Gaffer, it's not for us to worry about the the off-the-field stuff.

8:18 That'll get taken care of.

8:19 There's there's good people at this club.

8:20 I've been here a long time.

8:22 Um I have no doubts that the people at the club

8:24 and and and at top of the club um will

8:26 sort this and and we'll get through this sticky period."

8:28 And I think he sort of looked at me and said,

8:29 "That'll do for me." Um as in no nonsense,

8:31 let's not listen to the noise outside, what's going on.

8:34 Um and and yeah, he just he just instilled to us that again,

8:38 with everything going on, you're going to need that that resilience,

8:40 you're going to need that togetherness.

8:41 That's what's going to get us through these tricky moments.

8:43 And yeah, we've we've done that all year.

8:45 We've had so many tricky tricky spells in games um bits

8:48 and bobs here and there what people probably don't know about.

8:50 And and yeah, we've dealt with it.

8:52 And and I think we've got fully what we deserve at the end of tonight.

8:55 He intrigues me as a character.

8:56 He's a huge bloke.

8:57 He looks frightening.

8:58 He's often quite smiling and quite jokey.

9:00 What's he like?

9:01 He's um yeah, he's an interesting character

9:04 in in all the um for all the right reasons.

9:06 He's like you say, he's very very straight to the point.

9:08 And and I think that's what this group of men react well off.

9:11 He he don't pull his punches.

9:12 He tells it as it is.

9:13 We we know exactly what he expects from us.

9:15 But at the same time, like you say, the start of um a team meeting at training

9:19 sometimes he'll he'll just start with him 5

9:21 minutes cracking jokes and and just putting it

9:23 on the lads in a in a nice manner.

9:24 Like you say, he catches you off guard at times.

9:26 But he's he's been brilliant.

9:27 His staff as well.

9:28 And the staff that was already at the football club,

9:30 I um I can't credit them more enough.

9:32 You talk about the noise.

9:34 How did you deal with the noise tonight?

9:35 Did you speak about it beforehand, what to expect here?

9:38 We've obviously we've we've played here before,

9:39 of course not in those circumstances.

9:41 They're credit to their fans and again our fans

9:44 for for making as much noise as they did.

9:45 And and I said in the huddle before the game,

9:47 I said these are the nights when it's all

9:48 said and done and and our careers are over, not talking like it's close.

9:51 I hopefully got a few more years.

9:53 Um but these are the nights you remember and I said

9:55 make sure we remember it in a in a positive fashion.

9:57 These are the games you wanted to play in as a kid and and make sure we don't go

10:00 under and we we stick our chests up our chests

10:03 out and and stand up and be counted in.

10:05 Yeah, just again just the the the full squad, the lads that started the game,

10:08 the lads that come on, just yeah,

10:10 just so so proud of the lads and and proud to captain this side.

10:13 Can you process right now?

10:15 You'll be leading your team out at Wembley, your hometown club,

10:18 and you might be leading them into the Premier League.

10:21 No, it's difficult to process.

10:22 Again, I I I I know it's inside this this dressing room, this team.

10:26 I fully believe.

10:27 Um but again it will it'll probably take me

10:29 a little bit of time to to calm myself down.

10:31 I'll get to walk my little boy out.

10:33 That's what I said to myself all day in the hotel room.

10:35 Just make sure you give give yourself a chance to to realize

10:38 your dream of of captaining this side to the Premier League.

10:40 And I made a little promise to my boy,

10:41 to my partner earlier that I'd I'd walk our little boy out at Wembley.

10:45 So thankfully I kept that promise cuz if I don't

10:47 keep promises in my house it don't go down well.

10:49 Come on, name checking.

10:50 What's his name?

10:50 How old is he?

10:51 Little Ezra Christopher Coyle.

10:52 He's 3 years of age.

10:53 Um he's a little cracker and I'll I'll

10:56 certainly be looking forward to walking him out.