Play-offs like winning title for Hull - Jakirovic

Hull City boss Sergej Jakirovic has said reaching the Championship play-offs "feels like winning the league".

The Tigers, who face Millwall in the first leg of their semi-final on Friday, spent the majority of the season in the top six but a run of six games without a win meant they went into the final match behind sixth-placed Wrexham on goal difference.

Jakirovic's men came from a goal down to beat Norwich, while the Red Dragons could only draw with Middlesbrough.

"I feel excellent, this is a big achievement for us. I feel like we won the league," he told BBC Radio Humberside.

"It's been a long season and very interesting and, like I said, everything was decided in the last round."

He added: "I didn't sleep good because of all the emotions but in the morning [after] I felt good. It's a big success for us of course."

The former Bosnia and Herzegovina international took over in the summer after Ruben Selles was sacked last May as they avoided relegation to League One on goal difference.

This is Jakirovic's first season managing in England after spells in Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia and Turkey.

He said that his side's experience from their must-win game with the Canaries on Saturday would stand them in good stead for the play-offs.

"It will be much easier for us to play this because you have two games, so if you are not so good in the first game you can fix some problems but in the last round you don't have time and you must win the game and still you don't know if you are in the play-offs. That was huge pressure," he said.

"We showed great mentality, especially when we were 1-0 down and it was a crucial moment when we equalised immediately."

Jakirovic said the Tigers do not have any new injury concerns.

Defender John Egan had to go off in the win over Norwich after experiencing issues with his vision but is back in contention.

Millwall boss Alex Neil's main concern is around the fitness of striker Josh Coburn.

The 23-year-old missed the win over over Oxford with a knock.

Both of the games between the two sides in the regular season were won 3-1 by the away team.

Of all the teams in the Championship play-offs, Hull have the best record against the other three sides, with four wins and two losses in their six games.

Jakirovic does not think past results will have any bearing on how the play-offs go.

"Now we're starting a new tournament. It's a new challenge. You have two games to try and reach the final," he said.

"Nothing will be decided in the first game.

"Our approach must be with a very high concentration and focus on the task in front of us because we know everything about Millwall and they know everything about us.

"I think Alex did a great job this season to be until the last round able to reach direct promotion."

The Tigers travel to The Den for the second leg on Monday.