Hull City are close to appointing Pedro Martins as their new manager according to reports.
The former Olympiacos boss looks set to join the Tigers as Shota Averladze’s successor. Averladze was dismissed last Friday on the morning before their 2-0 defeat to Luton Town at the MKM Stadium.
Hull currently lie in 20th place in the Championship table after taking just 11 points from their first 11 games, having conceded 23 goals - the leakiest defence in the league by some distance.
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Portuguese outlet Record have reported that Martins is on his way to England to take charge of the club, while there have also been images circulating around social media of him inside the stadium, suggesting that an announcement is imminent.
Martins has been in management since 2006 but has only managed in two countries - his home nation of Portugal and in the Greek Super League.
His first three roles came in the Portuguese third-tier before he was appointed to the first team at top-flight Maritimo in 2010. Martins eventually led them to the Europa League group stage in 2012 before leaving in 2014 to join Rio Ave.
Gaining Europa League qualification with Ave, he departed in 2016 to manage one of his former clubs as a player, Vitoria de Guimaraes, where he again achieved European qualification and reached the final of the Taca de Portugal, where they lost to Benfica.
From there he headed to Greece to join Olympiacos. He spent four years in charge and during that time he guided the club to three Super League Greece titles in 2019-20, 2020-21 and 2021-22. He also completed a domestic double when he clinched the Greek Football Cup in 2019-20. He parted ways with the club in August.
His arrival on Humberside is viewed as a real coup for the struggling Tigers, as he had been linked with the vacant Wolverhampton Wanderers position in the Premier League. No one can fault owner Acun Ilicali for a lack of ambition in getting the experienced coach on board, along with the money invested in the squad in the summer.
