HULL FANS: WE’RE ALL GOING ON A TURKISH HOLIDAY

ACUN ILICALI has generated a fortune from his media empire – but his right-hand man insists he is not at Hull City to make money.

The larger-than-life Ilicali (above) swept into Hull in January and has made re-engaging with fans, who were disillusioned under previous owners, the Allams, one of his first priorities.

He is paying for 320 of them to go on a weeklong holiday to Antalya in his native Turkey from this weekend, where they will meet him and the players at their training camp.

Ilicali has also cut ticket prices behind the goals at the MKM Stadium and average home crowds have risen by over 7,000 since he arrived.

Hull’s vice-chairman Tan Kesler (inset) claims Ilicali wanted to reward 160 season ticket holders plus one guest each with the holiday to thank them for their support.

“The chairman, he’s very genuine,” Kesler said. “He came in and said we won’t try to make money out of this like a business, we’ll try to stand by the principles of giving back to the community. That’s his generosity.

“We realise with the previous ownership, we lost significant parts of our support, a generation of supporters.

“So we thought why not introduce ourselves to those lucky fans who have been loyal to us and show our hospitality?

“The whole thing is about giving back. When we took over, the crowds were around 8,500 members. At the minute, we are averaging over 16,000. We are very proud and excited that the fans believe in us and are coming back to us.”

Kesler also dismissed criticism that Ilicali uses Hull as a toy to show off to his pals.

He says the TV producer, who has been dubbed Turkey’s Simon Cowell, is fully committed to making Hull successful on and off the pitch.

“The chairman impressing his friends… I don’t think he needs that because he’s got massive followers,” said Kesler.

“He’s the most famous person in Turkey for the last 20 years.

“Knowing him as a friend and working at his side, he’s not like this. He doesn’t care about the money side of it. We care about success.”

Ilicali, 53, sacked Grant Mccann as manager within days of taking over and then axed his replacement, Shota Arveladze, in September.

Kesler defended his hiring and firing, claiming it was important to find a coach who fitted their attacking philosophy and says they have great confidence in new manager and Tigers old boy Liam Rosenior.

Rosenior, who was part of Hull’s 2014 FA

Cup final team, has only been in charge for three games and Ilicali and Kesler are confident the Tigers will climb the table from their lowly 20th position.

“We have no regrets because it wasn’t about the managers, it was about the process,” said Kesler. “It’s about playing attacking, entertaining football for the fans.

“We’re feeling very secure under Liam.

“The break is good for us and we’re starting a new era.”