Tan Kesler reveals the truth about his shock Hull City exit for the first time – and why he wants to return to England one day

Tan Kesler smiles as he greets Mail Sport in the lobby of a plush hotel in Cambridge.

The former Hull City vice-chairman is here to talk. To talk about his impressive career as a football executive, to talk about his near three-year spell with the Tigers – and to talk for the first time about a departure that left fans shocked.

Kesler, a former agent who also worked for the Turkish FA, was the right-hand man of Hull owner and chairman Acun Ilicali after his takeover at the MKM Stadium in January 2022, tasked with the day-to-day running of the club.

Under Kesler’s watch, Hull were transformed from years of drift under the Allam family ownership to a vibrant and successful side that reconnected with fans and provided a platform for young and homegrown players to develop.

Attendances almost doubled, while the joy and excitement returned last season until they narrowly missed out on the Championship play-off spots on the final day.

Things have been more difficult this time around after head coach Liam Rosenior was controversially replaced as boss by Tim Walter in the summer and Kesler departed his role to much surprise in October with Hull in 13th.

Walter was then sacked a month later and former Southampton and Reading manager Ruben Selles is now in charge and Hull sit 21st – just one point clear of the relegation zone with seven games to go. 

‘The club has a very unique touch to me,’ Kesler exclusively tells Mail Sport in the pleasant surroundings of this central Cambridge venue. ‘I’m not someone who became an executive within the club and left. I’ve always loved the organisation and my son was born in Hull.

‘I wish them nothing but the best and we (executives and owners) are just the flag holders for clubs. We do our best and then give the flag to the next person.’

Kesler’s fondness for Hull shines through across our hour-long conversation, having flown in specifically for this chat.

The 45-year-old is highly thought of in the world of football governance and was voted onto the EFL board as the Championship’s representative last summer.

Since his exit, he’s been busy working across emerging football markets, while undergoing a period of self-reflection.

But he’s also been plotting his next move, something that was confirmed last month with his appointment as CEO, vice-president and minority shareholder at Polish top-flight side Pogon Szczecin after Canadian-Iranian entrepreneur, Alex Haditaghi, a good friend, bought the club.

‘It’s been a privilege to get involved because it’s such a big community in one of the biggest cities in Poland,’ Kesler explains. ‘And it is a very historic club with a passionate fan base and there are similarities with Hull.’

Kesler’s exit from Hull in October by ‘mutual consent’ raised eyebrows given its shock nature and the fact the club’s statement announcing the news was just 35 words.

The lack of clarity from either party since has added to its confusing nature – and it came just months after Rosenior’s departure, a move that owner Ilicali put down to a difference in football philosophy and a need for a more entertaining style of play.

But Kesler, who worked 17-hour days in East Yorkshire, is here to open up.

‘It was not a sudden decision,’ he explains. ‘After Liam (Rosenior) left, it became quite challenging. We had to change our philosophy and the new coach was a legendary coach from Germany, but he was not experienced in the Championship.

‘The change within the organisation after Liam’s departure wasn’t received well. We had our moments with the chairman and I felt like it was the right time to pass the flag. I was also getting really tired and losing time with my family.

‘We had a couple of conversations and October was the final moment for me to arrive at that destination.’

Although the 45-year-old has now lifted the lid on his exit, why didn’t any of this come to light before?

‘I’ve always respected the club’s boundaries,’ Kesler adds. ‘Even after I left, the club was going through a tough time, so I didn’t want to put any additional negativity on them.’

So, would Kesler have a message to the fans he didn’t get to say goodbye to?

‘I truly represented the club and the community on the highest level,’ he says. ‘I really did my best for the club to be successful and to create a team the fans could be proud of.

‘I will continue to support Hull and I’m hoping they will remain in the division. But it was right to be silent because of the club’s situation at that time. They’re on a better pathway now and Ruben (Selles) is a really good coach.’

The Tigers gradually improved year-on-year during Kesler’s tenure and competed with bigger clubs, all the while giving young players a platform to shine.

This included the loan signings of Liam Delap and Fabio Carvalho last year, while homegrown stars Jacob Greaves (£15million to Ipswich in 2024) and Keane Lewis-Potter (£16m to Brentford in 2022) were among those sold for big fees.

Meanwhile, Aston Villa activated a £15m buyback clause on Jaden Philogene last summer – a year after Hull picked him up for £5m. Philogene then moved to Ipswich for £20m in January, highlighting Kesler’s talent-spotting credentials.

Turkish links were utilised, and Kesler reveals the additions of experienced stars Ozan Tufan and Jean-Michael Seri in the summer of 2022 were early statement moves to make the rest of the Championship realise Hull were a thriving entity again until Ilicali’s ownership.

Elsewhere, attendances rose from an average of 12,888 in 2021-22 to 21,980 last season, and there was investment in infrastructure. This included plans for a £25m sports village around the stadium, something Kesler wanted to turn into a state-of-the-art community facility.

‘To compete against the parachute payment clubs, you need to build something different,’ says Kesler – who has football in his blood given his father, Sevket, played for Turkey. 

‘I always focused on building something unpredictable as an organisation so that money and finances shouldn’t be the only way of solving the problem.

‘We wanted to develop the squad and playing style with an unpredictability of 30 per cent because that unpredictability can give us a competitive edge. Sometimes those risks work and sometimes they don’t.’

Kesler cites many highlights from Hull and is extremely proud of his work, but the ability to get fans believing in the club again stands out, with the Turk pointing towards multiple sell-outs last season.

The 45-year-old is keen not to dwell on the decision to replace Rosenior with Walter, although he admits he’s happy to see the Englishman doing well at Strasbourg and is grateful for the good work he did at Hull. And Kesler is similarly magnanimous when discussing Walter’s failed stint that saw him sacked after just three wins in 18 games.

‘He’s such a good manager and a good friend,’ he says. ‘It just didn’t work out, the circumstances didn’t meet for him.’

Moving forward, Kesler has ambitious plans at Pogon Szczecin, and will be based in Poland despite his family living back in England. ‘I made one promise to myself that I’m never going to be in a role if I’m not 200 per cent committed and focused on it,’ he explains. ‘I’ll be the guy on the ground answering questions, talking to fans and being transparent.’

There has been an instant impact too, with Szczecin – who have never won a major trophy – reaching the Polish Cup final on Tuesday night. But, could we see him back in English football in the future? ‘If and when I complete my mission,’ he says. ‘But I don’t look at Szczecin as a project that has a deadline.

‘I definitely would love to come back one day, whether it’s the Premier League or the Championship, any EFL league, because it’s just special to me and I’ve always loved English football, so you never know.

‘But right now, I’m so excited to be part of an important community and football team in Poland. I’m going to be working countless hours to make them proud and achieve the success they always envisioned, and that we envision.’

Could Manning be the man?

The Championship play-off race never fails to disappoint, with just six points between West Brom in sixth and Millwall in 13th, but one team going under the radar are eighth-placed Bristol City.

Bristol remains the largest city based on population to never have a Premier League team but a run of one loss in 11 games has put the Robins right into the promotion picture, largely thanks to the work of highly rated boss Liam Manning.

Progress was slightly halted by a 1-0 defeat at Burnley on Saturday, but their good form comes despite the fact that they were only one of two second-tier clubs not to make a signing in January – and they have used the fewest number of players in the division this season.

Manning’s impact since his arrival in November 2023 has been impressive, guiding Bristol City to a top half finish in 2023-24, while simultaneously reducing the average age of his squad.

In 2024-25, the xG table has Manning’s side fifth, while they have also been shaped into a highly-effective pressing team.

Having made his name in management at Lommel, MK Dons and Oxford before his move to the south west, Manning, 39, is one of the best young English coaches in the pyramid.

‘Naive’ Huddersfield star forced to apologise

Huddersfield striker Dion Charles has had better weekends.

The Northern Irishman joined the Terriers from Bolton for £750,000 in January but is yet to score in 11 appearances for his new club despite being viewed as a marquee signing.

Currently out with a hamstring injury, Charles was spotted among Bolton fans in the away end at their game with Blackpool on Saturday, just hours after Huddersfield were beaten 4-0 by play-off rivals Charlton – their fifth defeat in seven games.

Terriers interim boss Jon Worthington labelled the decision ‘naive’, although he did reveal the 29-year-old, who scored 57 times across three years for Bolton, had already apologised to him. The Trotters went on to lose 2-1 to Steve Bruce’s side, making it a miserable Saturday for Charles.