Liam Rosenior's new Hull City contract is reward for progress made in first year

The deal is reward for the excellent progress the Tigers have made under their former defender since he took over as head coach in November 2022.

Then Hull were 20th in the Championship, a point and a place above the relegation zone despite a summer of big investment by new owner Acun Ilicali.

Now, by weeding out many of the luxury players signed in that period, topping them up with more targeted signings and coaching the best out of those players he inherited – many of his defensive ones still in the key role they held in League One – the 39-year-old has taken the team into the play-off positions, heading the chasing pack behind the breakaway top four of Leicester City, Ipswich Town, Leeds United and Southampton.

Rosenior has implemented a progressive style of football building on defensive foundations laid last season.

His new contract has been talked about for some weeks and he has always been relaxed about it, stressing how much he wanted to stay and that it was merely a case of settling the formalities. Nevertheless, it will be a relief to most Hull fans that it has now been signed.

If he sees out his new contract – and it is far from a guarantee in modern football – he will be the Tigers' longest-serving manager since his playing days, when Steve Bruce took the team to an FA Cup final and European football during a four-year stint.

Rosenior, who made well over 100 appearances for Hull between 2010 and 2015 and has family ties to the city, has a strong emotional bond to the club but seems destined to manage in the Premier League.

The challenge for the Tigers might be to keep pace with his ambitions by ensuring he can do that with them. As the halfway point of the campaign looms into view, it looks do-able.