New Shelbourne owner: 'We found a hidden treasure in Dublin'

New Shelbourne owner Acun Ilicali said he'd found a "hidden treasure" in Dublin as he was unveiled to the media at the Aviva Stadium on Friday afternoon.

The Turkish media mogul and owner of Hull City was flanked by executive board member Tan Kessler and vice-chairman Andrew Doyle as he outlined his vision for the club, as well as how it relates to its "big brother" in the north of England.

Ilicali, who had earlier expressed an interest in Dundalk, as well as clubs on the continent, said that his ambition was to build a team capable of achieving success at European level.

"To be stronger in the football industry, we needed another club. So we started searching. In Portugal, in Belgium, we had some opportunities, good opportunities. And (elsewhere) in Ireland, some opportunities.

"But at the end of the day, in our meetings, what we discovered is that there is a hidden treasure in Dublin. And it is called Shelbourne.

"My whole life has been about improving things in my media business. I've bought so many formats, TV productions, TV channels around the world and lifted them to a higher standard. Now, in football, in the last two years, we have achieved good success in Hull City.

"At the moment, we see big potential in Irish football and we see big potential in Shelbourne. For us, it is the correct team for us to show our talent in making a big team (into) a bigger team."

Ilicali insisted that Shels would not function as a mere 'feeder club' for Hull City but that both clubs would derive benefit from the relationship.

"The project is to put Shelbourne in a better position, with a better squad. Whenever we talk about Shelbourne, we talk about them individually.

"Of course, there will be a relationship between Shelbourne and Hull City,