Acun Ilicali delivers update on Hull City's training ground and academy work

Acun Ilicali has reiterated his desire to bring Hull City's academy closer to the MKM Stadium and continue to improve the club's training ground, and says he wants it as soon as possible.

Ilicali wants to see a legacy of the club's latest foray into the Premier League, with City set to bank over £200m over the next three years, and if Sergej Jakirovic can keep the Tigers up, that figure rises above £350m.

City have made a number of improvements to their Cottingham training ground over the past couple of seasons, and will again this summer as the club prepares for life in the world's biggest league, to ensure their players have all the state-of-the-art equipment.

Speaking before his departure from the club, former sporting director Jared Dublin revealed the desire for the club to move to a purpose-built training facility that would house the academy and first team.

More than three years on from Tan Kesler, the ex-vice chairman's grand claims about a sports village at the MKM Stadium, fans continue to pose questions about what the project looks like now, and how it would be funded.

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Ilicali, though, says the focus for now is on putting together a squad capable of competing in the Premier League and ensuring that they're not just one-season wonders, but plans continue to be formulated behind the scenes with regard to the academy and moving away from Bishop Burton College, which the club currently share with students attending courses at the site.

"First of all, we have only two months for the new season after we're promoted," Ilicali told Hull Live. "It's not possible to do any fast movements immediately, but we have our plans now, and about the academy, we will move as fast as possible because I want them to be inside the city for many reasons."

While aesthetically, the training ground may look dated, Ilicali believes the intimate feeling is actually a blessing in disguise for the club, and says he doesn't feel the need for a big, grand, expansive building.

"About the training ground, we are not in a rush because it's a cosy, nice, beautiful, innocent atmosphere which our players enjoy," he continued. "We will make some small changes like we do every year, but for a bigger one, I don't want a big building that doesn't have the spirit.

"Instead of that, a cosy training ground, players close to each other, smelling the feeling of being a family, is more important for me. Big buildings don't bring happiness or success. I think being united is much more important than these kinds of things.

"Of course, in the long term, we will keep on investing in this kind of facility. I'm sure that the fans are on the same page, we have to stay in the league first. Our priority is now to make a good team, a strong team, so that we can stay in the league."

Ilicali joked that if anyone knows of the ideal location for the new site, then they should get in touch because he admits the club have not yet been able to identify the right place.

"We are searching for some places in Hull to bring the academy. There are some options, but I don't think that we could find the ideal one. We are searching every day, so if anybody has a good place for an academy, we would appreciate it," he joked.

"What we are trying to do is to make an academy place inside the city, and the boys, I don't want them to just go there (Bishop Burton). It's a little far away from everything, so a better condition and a good academy are a must, and we will do it as soon as possible."

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