Friday 15 December 2017 14:16, UK
Jackson Irvine admits that it was tough to see Leonid Slutsky lose his job at Hull.
The Russian won a lot of admirers during his short stay at the KCOM Stadium for his affable nature, but results were poor as the Tigers won just four of his 20 games in charge in the Sky Bet Championship.
"He was as you saw, he was a great character and very approachable," Irvine, who was signed by Hull from Burton in August, told Sky Sports News.
"It's difficult when things aren't going your way and it probably wasn't a massive change that was needed. It was all fine margins and there were a lot of games where we were five or ten minutes from winning, and that's what cost us. But you never like to see anyone lose their job."
Slutsky was replaced by Nigel Adkins, who got off to a winning start against Brentford in his first game last Saturday, a game in which Irvine scored his first goal for Hull.
The Australian international says it's been a whirlwind since Adkins took over, but it was vital to get off to such a positive start.
"Obviously things had been a bit mad with the change of manager and you're trying to adjust to doing things slightly differently," said Irvine. "But it's been a good week for us with the first win at home for a little while and hopefully it can lead us into a positive Christmas period.
"Adkins has been great, he's come in and put an emphasis on getting the confidence back among the players and getting us organised, and you saw the impact of that [against Brentford].
"It's always nice to get the first goal for your new club and break your drought, especially when it's a winner at home. Scoring goals was something I brought to [Burton] last season and I need to bring it to Hull as well. Hopefully it's the first of many."
They next face a tough trip on Saturday, live on Sky Sports Football, to high-flying Cardiff, who Irvine faced while at Burton earlier in the season, and he knows how tough it will be.
"They're a very good side and they've had a great start. I played them in the first game of the season when I was still with Burton and we lost to a late goal, which shows they fight right to the end.
"We need to look at their threat but also see how we can cause them problems."
Hull head into the weekend 15 points off the play-off pace and deep in the bottom half of the table. Irvine, however, believes that there's still time to make a run for the top six.
"If you're looking at that kind of gap at the end of January then it's a real mountain to climb, but for us it's just about chipping away and keeping an eye on that sixth place," he said.
"We're always going to be looking up the table instead of over our shoulder and we need to keep chipping away at that points total and trying to close the gap as much as possible. Then hopefully we can go on a big run and get us up into that zone."
And with a World Cup on the horizon in the summer, Irvine has good reason for hoping Hull's form improves. The better the Tigers do, the more chance he has of catching the eye of the new Australia manager and making the squad.
The 24-year-old scored his first international goal earlier this year, and was involved in the first leg of the play-off win against Honduras last month that saw them through to the finals in Russia. He insists that his attention is on domestic matters, and then the rest will take of itself.
"It's an ultimate goal and something to have one eye on during the season," he said. "Obviously the focus is on [Hull] but while you're here it's nice to know it's there on the horizon and you can look forward to it.
"We're waiting on a new manager to come in, but having been part of qualification I'll definitely be hoping to seal a spot on that plane to Russia in the summer!"
Don't miss the Sky Bet Championship clash between Cardiff and Hull on Saturday, live on Sky Sports Football and Sky Sports Main Event from 5.15pm
