Hull City look set to appoint German Tim Walter as their new manager, following Liam Rosenior’s surprise exit earlier this week.
Rosenior was sacked by Hull on Tuesday evening after failing to secure a place in the Championship play-offs. Defeat at Plymouth Argyle on the final day saw the Tigers finish seventh, three points short of Norwich City who took the final spot.
The decision shocked supporters, particularly given the 39-year-old was on the three-man shortlist for the Championship’s manager of the year alongside Leeds United’s Daniel Farke and eventual winner Kieran McKenna of Ipswich Town. Owner Acun Ilicali is now under pressure to source a suitable replacement and looks set to follow the path set by Sheffield Wednesday and other second-tier sides in the past.Walter has been among the favourites to take over at the MKM Arena and Sky Germany reports that he is now ‘set to sign’ for Hull. Talks between the club and manager are well underway and should present few issues, with Walter out of work since leaving second-tier German side Hamburger SV in February. The 48-year-old’s previous jobs include Stuttgart, Holstein Kiel and Bayern Munich reserves.
Walter is expected to have his foot in the door before the summer transfer window opens as Hull prepare for another campaign in the Championship. A busy window is expected with many of Rosenior’s top players from this season on loan and now returning to parent clubs. The Tigers will expect to be pushing for play-offs or automatic promotion again.
All of Walter’s previous experience has come in his homeland and it appears Hull are attempting to follow a recent trend of Championship success in appointing German head coaches. Wednesday are the most recent to follow such a path and have enjoyed great success since appointing 35-year-old Danny Rohl in October, defying early odds to remain in the Championship.
Rohl took charge at Hillsborough in October with Wednesday rooted to the bottom of the Championship and a sure bet for relegation. But in his first head coach role, the promising young manager has won 16 of his 38 league games to secure a second consecutive year in the second-tier.
Now Leeds manager Farke was one of the first to make the move directly from Germany to the Championship, having been appointed as manager of Norwich city in 2017 before leading the Canaries to promotion on two occasions. Current Norwich boss David Wagner also enjoyed great success in his first job in England, guiding Huddersfield Town to the Premier League after winning the 2017 Championship play-offs.
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