It may have been a summer of big changes at Hull City, with numerous players and manager Liam Rosenior leaving the club, but owner Acun Ilicali remains optimistic about the club’s prospects for the coming season and suggests there is still room to improve.

New head coach Rosenior led City to seventh place last season, missing out on the play-offs by three points on the final day of the season. It was a very positive season for the Tigers, but the owner decided to change manager and with it a large turnover of players at the MKM Stadium.

Ilicali himself admits that Tim Walter’s side will not be ready for their season opener against Bristol City this afternoon, but he hopes that by the time the transfer window closes at 11pm on August 30, four league games into the season, the outlook will be much more positive and that the team can score the goals they need to cross the finish line in May.

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Things are heating up, with Marvin Mehlem, Anthony Racioppi, Finley Burns and Liam Millar all arriving before the opening weekend, in addition to Ryan Giles and Cody Drameh, who joined earlier in the summer. A striker is expected ahead of the next Championship game at Plymouth Argyle next Saturday, and more will arrive, particularly if, as they still hope, a deal to sign Charlie Hughes from Wigan goes through.

Although Walter appears to have started the season with a less than strong squad, Ilicali remains confident that the German can have a successful season in one of the most competitive championship seasons in a long time.

“I dreamed of creating a strong club in Europe,” the Turkish owner said of his relationship with City. “We met very nice people in a very nice place in England. I experienced a lot of beautiful things. It was a very good journey for me. Our team, which could be described as below average in the first year we took over the club, finished seventh this year. Our goal is to progress and get Hull City into the play-offs.”

The decision to sack Rosenior after a positive season that ended in disappointment caused a wave of shock and surprise, but Ilicali remains confident that the appointment of former Hamburg head coach Walter will bring him the energy he is looking for.

“In this new football phase of my life, my adventure in England is going very well. We have met very nice people. The number of our fans is increasing day by day,” he said, looking back on a season in which the MKM Stadium recorded a very respectable attendance of just under 22,000, the highest since the Premier League season seven years ago. Around 21,000 fans are expected to attend the season opener this afternoon, including around 800 away fans.

“We have new plans for this year,” said the Turkish businessman. “And number one is our coach Tim Walter. He was our number one target for next season, he was the first name we considered. The reason for this is the enthusiasm for the football he plays in Germany. He is a person who is appreciated and loved by all the fans in his city.”

“Of course, he is above all a positive and good person. He lets us feel his energy at every moment. All my life I have tried to succeed by working with good people. With our new coach we want to achieve new successes. We will embark on a beautiful journey together.

“We played a good season. In England, at the beginning of the season, no one expected us to be so successful. Turkey also had a positive effect on the team. The team is motivated when they see this effect. We will always work towards the Premier League and are very assertive.”

While City will be keen to spend money before the transfer window closes, just as they did last season, they will be up against bigger clubs with even bigger budgets. However, Ilicali believes his team can overcome these challenges with a manager he believes can make a difference and who is convinced that this transfer window will be a transitional period for the club.

“We are playing against five parachute teams with much bigger budgets than us. But can we do it? We can do it. We can beat these teams not with money but with intelligence. Both the players and the coach have that football intelligence. That’s why I believe we will succeed.”

While fans remain concerned about the lack of transfers at the start of the transfer window, Ilicali says he is content to wait until the end of August for one or two high-profile signings. Just as we saw last season when Tyler Morton and Jaden Philogene arrived on a hectic deadline day that almost saw Jesurun Rak-Sakyi join the club. They have not given up hope of getting Crystal Palace just yet, although it looks likely that he will go to Sheffield United.

“More opportunities will come after mid-August (after Premier League clubs finalise their squads). We got Jaden Philogene on the last day of recruitment, we got Tyler Morton on the last day of recruitment. That means we were successful last year,” he continued.

“That doesn’t mean we’re gambling. We want to find the best people, and to find the best people you shouldn’t settle for just any option. We’re now waiting in a jungle for our targets, we’re smelling them, and I’m sure we’ll find them.”