Steve Bruce takes charge at Hull this season hoping to guide the club back to the Premier League.

Ins: Nick Proschwitz (£3 million), Robert Peet (free transfer), Alex Bruce (free transfer), Sone Aluko (free transfer), Abdoulaye Faye (free transfer), Eldin Jakupovic (free transfer), Ben Amos (loan)

Outs: Kevin Kilbane (free transfer), Will Atkinson (free transfer), Kamel Ghilas (free transfer)

Strengths: Steve Bruce. Following the shock departure of club legend Nick Barmby – that’s what you get for chatting about your employer’s finances – Big Brucie is now stepping up to the task of getting Hull City back into the top flight.

He’s already tasted plenty of success in the second tier, having steered Birmingham City to two promotions over the years.

Weaknesses: Steve Bruce. While Big Brucie is a high-profile manager who can work wonders in the second tier, he also has some glaring weaknesses. For instance, his role at Hull is his eighth management job in just 14 years. Either our calculations are bad – we are bloggers not statisticians - that suggests that something just isn’t clicking after the initial honeymoon period. 

Last season’s performance: Hull finished eighth in the Championship, just seven points adrift of the play-offs. This was an improvement on their 11th place in the 2010/11 campaign and put them closer to getting back into the top flight.

If they were a celebrity: Eminem. Both seemed to have been washed out after some time in the spotlight – Hull had little reply when they were relegated from the Premier League back in May 2010 and Slim Shady’s act was getting a bit tired in 2005. Fast forward to the present and both seem to have used the time away to rediscover their sparkle once more.

You might not have known: The KC Stadium will celebrate its 10th anniversary as Hull’s home ground on Boxing Day. The Tigers will be looking to let out a loud and victorious roar to mark the occasion, when they host Leicester City.

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