Dawson ‘given no plans beyond Boro match’
IN CHARGE: Interim head coach Andy Dawson
By Simon Bristow, Co-Editor
Interim Hull City head coach Andy Dawson has been given no indication about how long he will be in charge beyond Saturday’s trip to Middlesbrough.
The Tigers stalwart was handed the reins after the sacking of Tim Walter, which was announced yesterday, hours after the 2-0 home defeat to Yorkshire rivals Sheffield Wednesday on Tuesday night. Assistant head coaches Julian Hübner and Filip Tapalović also left the club.
The loss brought an end to a disastrous six months under Walter, with City in the Championship relegation zone in 22nd place having suffered four straight defeats and with no win in nine games. They had finished one place outside the play-offs in seventh last season, which was followed by the shock sacking of then boss Liam Rosenior on May 7.
Tigers owner and chairman Acun Ilıcalı had called Walter “our first choice” when appointing him on May 31.
Speaking at a press conference today, Dawson revealed he was only informed of Walter’s departure in a phone call from head of recruitment Jared Dublin at 3.30pm on Wednesday, 90 minutes before the club made the news public.
He said: “It was a short conversation. It was about half-three yesterday. He said the information about Tim and that ‘You’ll be taking the game for Saturday. You go about that and do what you need to do’.”
Asked if there was any indication about how long he would be in charge, Dawson said: “No. The conversation was just prep the next couple of days for the Middlesbrough game and that’s what I’ll do.”
Dawson also revealed Walter and his two assistants had visited the squad to say their goodbyes this morning.
He called their departure “sad” and said: “I spoke to them yesterday. They’re good guys and I wish them all the best in the future. I’ll stay in contact with them. They’ve come in and seen the lads this morning – fair play to them because that can’t be easy, walking in this morning, so full credit to them, and said their goodbyes to the lads and the staff.”
He added: “That’s gone now, the decision’s been made. I wish Tim and ‘Tapa’ and Filip all the best and I’m sure they’ll go and do really well wherever there next adventure be.”
As well as hoping for a good result on Saturday, Dawson said his main aim was lifting the players and encouraging them to enjoy their football again after a “difficult” period.
He said: “We’ve had a meeting this morning with everybody together and the message was stick together, look after each other and go and enjoy what you’re doing.
GONE: Tim Walter, who was sacked on Wednesday. Picture credit: Hull City
“And hopefully we can go and perform on Saturday because it’s another game of football and it’s another game to go and show what they can do and enjoy the game that they’ve been in for many a year since they were kids, and that’s what we’ve got to try to get back into them.
“And hopefully we have a little bit of luck as well because let’s be honest we’ve not had much luck in recent weeks. And to do that we need everybody together, well that’s every member of staff at the football club, that’s every fan that we’ve got supporting us.
“Because it’s not easy; the lads, when you’ve not won in a number of games they’re human beings and confidence can be low.”
He added: “I know how hard it will be for them at times, but we’ve got their back and that’s every single person, and we’ve got a fantastic bunch of fans as well that are going to support us on Saturday. And go out and enjoy what you do lads, go and play. Go and work hard. It’s another game of football to go and express yourself.”
City face a tough test on Saturday, with Michael Carrick’s Middlesbrough lying 6th.
Dawson has been interim head coach at City before, overseeing seven games in 2022 after the sacking of Shota Arveladze. Arveladze was Ilıcalı’s first managerial appointment after taking over the club from Assem Allam.