Coyle heads to Wembley after Millwall win and Spygate

Lewie Coyle’s – Hull captain Lewie Coyle helped propel the Tigers into the Championship play-off final after a 2-0 aggregate win over Millwall, and he’s now one match from returning to the Premier League after nine years away. His Wembley dream is tied to hometown pride and t

In the away dressing room at The Den. Hull players gathered and sang Adele’s Someone Like You at full volume. Lewie Coyle wasn’t there. Instead. Hull’s captain was somewhere else entirely—doing the modern football chore of post-match interviews after the Championship play-off semi-final triumph. because he had duties to fulfil before he could properly join the moment.

Coyle insists he probably isn’t the best singer. Then he gets back to what mattered: the feeling of sharing those scenes with the group, and the supporters, after Hull moved past Millwall with a 2-0 aggregate victory.

The first leg finished goalless. In the second, substitutes Mohamed Belloumi and Joe Gelhardt swung the tie, scoring as Hull secured their place at Wembley. For Coyle, it was the kind of night his side has chased all season—especially impressive given the context. Millwall had narrowly missed out on automatic promotion. while Hull had only seized the final play-off spot on the last day by overcoming an in-form Norwich side.

Hull are now one game away from returning to the Premier League after a nine-year absence, taking them back to Wembley for the first time since 2016 when Steve Bruce guided the club past Sheffield Wednesday.

Coyle. a right back who grew up in Hull and is closing in on 250 appearances for his hometown club. insists the season’s most striking change has been belief. He joined from Fleetwood in 2020 and has become a steady presence through the turnaround under Sergej Jakirovic. who arrived last June after never coaching in England.

After last season, when Hull survived relegation on goal difference following a chaotic campaign, this year began under real pressure. Hull were hit with a three-window transfer fee embargo for late payments relating to previous signings, later reduced to two on appeal.

Coyle says the message inside the changing room changed anyway. “After last year it would have been easy to say: ‘let’s stabilise and aim for mid-table’. But the lads that were here knew we shouldn’t have been where we were. Even with the restrictions, we didn’t let that deter us from our goal of making the play-offs.”.

He adds that Jakirovic didn’t treat the target as a ceiling. “Then the manager said we’re not just making the play-offs, we’ve got a chance to get to Wembley and go one step further. You saw that belief against Millwall, and it will be the same until the final whistle at Wembley.”

That belief was matched by decisions that mattered in-game. Coyle credits Jakirovic’s bold tactical switch to a back five in the second leg, which helped blunt Alex Neil’s side. He also points to the timing of the changes—Belloumi and Gelhardt both began on the bench before transforming the tie.

The win against Millwall is, Jakirovic has said, the biggest achievement of his career. He has embraced the Championship’s physicality and intensity too, even joking that ‘football rugby’ is sometimes played in the division.

Coyle, speaking ahead of the play-off final on Saturday, describes a manager who brings both humour and sharpness. “First and foremost he’s a character. He has us in stitches in team meetings. But when it’s time to work, he’s straight to the point and pulls no punches. This group responds really well to him and there’s a lot of respect for him. When he speaks, people listen.”.

He also ties the progress to togetherness built after early issues with the embargo. “We had issues at the start with the embargo. but he’s built togetherness. and the club did a fantastic job of assembling not just a good group of players. but a good group of men. That’s why I was so proud of everyone at Millwall.”.

Those moments have also helped reunite a fractured fanbase. Turbulence followed the turbulence of 2024-25, when both Tim Walter and Ruben Selles lost their jobs.

Hull still weren’t smooth all the way. They endured an inconsistent spell, including a six-match winless run before the final day that threatened to derail promotion hopes. But the final push ended with Hull pipping Wrexham and Derby for the play-off spot on a dramatic last day. after beating Southampton twice and Middlesbrough during the campaign.

The numbers show why Jakirovic’s job has been difficult at times and why his achievements carry extra weight. Hull finished second bottom in the Championship’s expected points table and had the fourth-worst defensive record. something Coyle says has pained Jakirovic at points—even as the Tigers kept two clean sheets against Millwall.

Another transformation has been the attacking output. Hull scored 70 league goals this season, after managing only 44 during last year’s struggles.

Coyle says the squad blends experience and youth in a way that makes the team feel ready for moments like Millwall’s second-leg blow. Veterans including Coyle. John Egan and Matt Crooks provide leadership. while Leeds loanee Gelhardt—whose previous half-season loan spell in 2024-25 led Jakirovic to plead for the club to re-sign him last summer—and former Wigan academy team-mate Charlie Hughes represent an emerging core.

Up front, Oli McBurnie has 17 goals and Gelhardt has 14. Belloumi’s resurgence is another key detail: Coyle points to his cutting edge after a long-term injury.

“We’ve got so many lads that can make a difference,” Coyle adds. “We’ve got guys who step up in those moments where others are out, and the fact two substitutes came on and scored at Millwall tells you a lot about us.”

He signed a new three-and-a-half-year contract in February, and for his personal story this run is also about timing. Coyle came through the ranks at Leeds and is closing in on 250 appearances for Hull after six seasons that began in League One. Only Regan Slater remains from his first campaign. and Jakirovic is the sixth permanent manager Coyle has played under at the club.

“I’m incredibly lucky and proud to be close to 250 appearances for my hometown club,” Coyle says. “To captain them is another thing entirely. I wear that responsibility with huge pride and to cap it off at Wembley would be a dream come true.”

For many supporters, Coyle embodies the city in a way that doesn’t feel like branding. His family’s ties run deep.

Older brother Tommy was a professional boxer who won a Commonwealth title in 2018 and regularly fought in Hull. His younger brother Rocco is on the books at Hull, and his other brother Joe works as a professional golf coach.

Their father Chris was a beloved greengrocer in Hull for more than 30 years until his sudden death in 2022. As a youngster, Coyle worked on the family fruit-and-vegetable stall, Coyle and Sons, and he has previously spoken about football becoming his escape after his father’s passing.

“It’s a hard-working city that’s not always had an awful lot, so I’ve got that deep-rooted connection,” Coyle says. “I grew up watching my old man work as hard as he did to give us a platform and a glimmer of hope to achieve our dreams so it means so much to play for this club.”

He’s also clear about what a Wembley night would mean. “I think it means more to me. I’ve grown up in Hull, it’s all I’ve ever known and I know what football means to people here.”

Hull will be back at Wembley for a Championship play-off final for the first time since 2016. but for Coyle’s generation there’s an older memory that still burns. Dean Windass’ iconic winner against Bristol City in 2008 is the match he says he remembers most vividly. He recalls watching it with friends and still speaks about it with the warmth of someone who believes in dreams because he’s seen one land.

“For a hometown guy like Dean Windass to score that goal and get Hull to the Premier League is what dreams are made of,” he adds. “I was just so happy and those games stick in your mind.”

The build-up to Saturday’s final, though, has been dominated by disruption beyond the field. The extraordinary Spygate controversy saw Southampton expelled from the match and replaced by Middlesbrough, disrupting Hull’s preparation.

Coyle spoke to Daily Mail Sport before the decision had been made. Even then, he insisted the uncertainty would not distract Hull, adding that it was “completely out of our control.”

Owner Acun Ilicali, however, questioned on Wednesday whether Hull should go straight to the Premier League given Southampton’s disqualification. All the while, Ilicali remains unapologetic about his ambition after buying the club in 2022, insisting he wants Hull back among the biggest lights.

Coyle’s response is professional, but it also lands like a warning against getting carried away by circumstances. “All we can do is prepare and focus on the task in hand. If anything changes for whatever reason, then, of course, we’re all professional. We’ll react to that in the right way,” he said.

Now the Tigers prepare to take on Middlesbrough in the final, with the emotional stakes only increasing as Saturday approaches. Coyle is determined to turn the noise around Spygate into something simple: a performance that brings the club back to the Premier League after nine years.

“I always wanted to be part of a squad that could get Hull back to the Premier League,” Coyle concludes. “The ambition the club has shown in recent years aligns with everything I want to do here.”

He leaves the story where it began—belief in a city that knows what hard work costs. “This club has had some really good years, but it would mean absolutely everything to help bring big-time football back to Hull at Wembley – and I think that would probably be the way I would honour my old man.”

Hull City Lewie Coyle Millwall Championship play-off final Wembley Spygate Southampton Middlesbrough Sergej Jakirovic Acun Ilicali