Hull City

KC must remain a fortress - Brown
Hull City boss Phil Brown has said his team have got what it takes to reach the Championship play-off final. The Tigers have never played at Wembley before but are now just 90 minutes away after winning 2-0 at Watford in Sunday's play-off semi-final first leg. "The last time we went ahead and lost was against Plymouth in the first game of the season," said Brown. "And the personnel's changed drastically since. "The KC has been a fortress and we need more of that," he told SSB. Brown faces a selection dilemma as Nigerian star Jay-Jay Okocha, Henrik Pedersen and Dean Marney could all come in to contention. The City boss would not say who will play in Wednesday's second leg but backed the team which won at Watford. "We need the same mentality defensively at KC Fortress," he said. "And we need the same flair and quality going forward."

Windass to fight for Hull place
Hull City's Wembley play-off hero Dean Windass has held clear-the-air talks with manager Phil Brown. The 39-year-old striker has yet to start a Premier League game this season but will stay and fight for his place. Tigers chairman Paul Duffen told BBC Radio Humberside: "I was hoping that Deano would find a way to be happy and play a part at the football club. "He wants to play football as long as he can walk and I think that's fantastic - I don't rule out Dean." Windass scored the winning goal at Wembley in May that clinched top-flight football for the Tigers for the first time but last week the forward expressed his frustration at not playing and Duffen says he totally understands those concerns. "I do believe he has got to keep training at 100% and I think he has a lot to give on the training ground and I think he knows that," added Duffen. "I think that's one of things that Phil reinforced when they spoke. "Dean Windass' presence around the training ground, around the travelling squad, his experience and his motivation is absolutely enormous and I don't rule out that Dean will play a part in this campaign. "As the oldest professional at this football club he can expect to play less of a part than others but I've no doubt about his enormous value at this football club and I'm delighted that he wants to stay and serve Hull City Football Club for the rest of the season." Windass had been linked to Barnsley but the manager of the Championship club, Simon Davey, has denied he has been in talks with the veteran striker.

Brown backed to sustain Hull form
Hull City chairman Paul Duffen has backed boss Phil Brown to build on the Tigers' impressive start to the season. Newly promoted City are third in the Premier League table after back-to-back wins at Arsenal and Tottenham. And Duffen told Radio 5 Live: "The good thing is there is nothing about our tactics that can be sussed out. "Phil has proved himself to be a tactical magician. He outmanoeuvred Arsene Wenger at the Emirates Stadium and not many have done that." Duffen, who took control of the Tigers in June 2007, feels Hull deserve more plaudits for their achievements, which included a win at Newcastle as well as at the Emirates and White Hart Lane. "We have had three fantastic away wins so far this season," he explained. "But after the Newcastle game the reportage was dominated by the mess that Newcastle are in rather than giving us credit for the victory. "At Arsenal last week there was some sort of implication that because they had been beaten by Hull that it was humiliation for Arsenal. "Similarly, on Sunday, we go and beat Spurs and the news is all about Spurs' problems. "But in some ways we quite like that because as long as we are off the radar we will keep surprising people." Off the field too, Duffen feels that everything is in place at the KC Stadium for the Tigers to maintain their form. "It's been a great start to the campaign and we are immensely proud of Phil and the boys," he added. "We have got a momentum at the club. "We are not going to get ahead of ourselves but we are certainly going to enjoy it while we are up there. "We have got a wonderful atmosphere at the club and a great team of people. "Everyone is facing in the same direction and I don't think there is any limit to what we can achieve as long as we can keep that on the go." Brown, who steered Hull to promotion via the play-offs last season, puts his side's good form down to hard work. "We have stuck to our gameplan to the letter," Brown told BBC Sport. "I've got some good loyal players who are willing to fight and die for the cause and, if you've got that as a manager, then you are a happy man. "Our gameplan is 'we play, they don't play' - if possible. "We employed that in the Championship too and it was a little bit easier to do - there are some good players out there in the Premier League. "But if someone had said to me a fortnight ago that we would win at the Emirates and White Hart Lane, I would have thought they were talking crazy stuff. "Would I have settled for three points between the two games? The answer's yes. "We would have settled for four points, and I might have been dreaming but six points certainly is in dreamland and it is down to the players." A spectacular Geovanni free-kick secured victory against Spurs but Brown feels their graft was just as important. "The win was down to some Brazilian quality and some resilient quality as well - the resilience of the team, their togetherness. They are fighting for each other, running for each other."

Taylor is thrilled by Hull start
Former Hull City boss Peter Taylor is "chuffed to bits" with the start they have made in the Premier League. With Hull sitting third in the table, Taylor told Look North: "All credit has got to go to Phil Brown. "The players are up against Spurs, Newcastle, Arsenal and Everton and they seem to be playing with no fear. "Phil's signed a couple of players who score amazing goals but the most pleasing thing is to see Myhill, Dawson and Ashbee." The trio played for Taylor when Hull City were in the bottom tier of the Football League and earned back to back promotions into the Championship. The former England Under-21 chief, who left Hull for Crystal Palace in June 2006, added: "I thought Daws thought at times he shouldn't be on there but with the ability he's got he should be." Taylor is now in change of Wycombe Wanderers who lead the chase for League Two promotion this season.

Dons boss plays down Windass link
Jimmy Calderwood says "it's not impossible but very doubtful" that former Aberdeen striker Dean Windass will return to Pittodrie from Hull. The 39-year-old striker has become frustrated at a lack of first-team opportunities in the Premier League. Windass and his wife retain a strong affection for Aberdeen and the city. But the Dons boss said: "It's all speculation. We've got good centre forwards here and, if they do the business, nothing will be happening." Former Middlesbrough forward Windass scored the winning goal in the play-off finals that secured Hull's place in this season's top flight in England. But, so far this season, the striker has been linked with moves to several clubs, including Leeds United and Doncaster Rovers, who failed in a bid this week. Aberdeen are the latest to be linked with the player, who joined Aberdeen from Hull in 1995 for £700,000 and spent two-and-a-half years at Pittodrie. "I have not spoken to Dean myself, but I got a phone call about him about two or three weeks ago," said Calderwood. "It's a few weeks before the transfer window opens and you never know what sort of options you might have by then. "But I know Dean is a big hero with Aberdeen fans and they would be delighted if he came back." It is understood that Aberdeen director of football Willie Miller does not see a move for Windass as fitting in with the club's preference for developing a youth policy. And Windass's wages mean that a loan move would be the most likely route for any move to Scotland. But Calderwood added: "We know about Dean's situation. We have a lot of things to consider, like how long Tommy Wright is going to be out injured. "I also like the lad. I spoke to him in the summer when Dean wanted Aberdeen to provide the opposition for his testimonial. "We were already committed to going to Holland, so I was disappointed we had to turn that offer down. "I also spoke to his wife and she made it clear she'd love it if he came back. "I certainly wouldn't discard the chances of that happening at this stage."

Hull priced out of Riise market
Hull City manager Phil Brown has ruled out a move for former Liverpool defender John Arne Riise before the January transfer window closes. Brown confirmed he did contact the Norwegian's club AS Roma about a move to the KC Stadium, but could not match the Italian side's valuation. He told Radio Humberside: "We came away from the enquiries with a 'too expensive for us' tag." Hull will now turn their sights to two other unnamed targets. Brown wants to bring in at least one more defender before the transfer window closes to augment his squad. He added: "When we enquired about John Arne Riise we didn't know what the extent Andy's long-term or Anthony Gardner's long-term injury was going to be." Dawson made his return in the Tigers' 2-0 FA Cup fourth round victory over Millwall at the KC Stadium on Saturday after being sidelined since November with Achilles tendon problems. Former Spurs defender Gardner is expected to step up his training this week after being out since September with a thigh injury.

Hull keen on Cardiff's McCormack
Hull City have turned their attention to Cardiff striker Ross McCormack after missing out on Michael Owen, Fraizer Campbell and Marc-Antoine Fortune. The Tigers have also tabled a bid for Fulham forward Bobby Zamora. But it is believed that the Barclays Premier League outfit are preparing an offer of about £3.5m for the 22-year-old Scotland international. Hull lost out to Manchester United for Owen, Fortune joined Celtic, while Campbell ended up at Sunderland. Three top-flight clubs and one from the Championship are trailing McCormack, who scored 23 goals for Cardiff last season. Stoke City have previously been linked with the Scot and were also one of the clubs chasing Owen. McCormack began his career with Rangers but was sold to Motherwell in 2006 despite scoring an equaliser against Porto on his European debut. His fine form at Fir Park led Wigan and Middlesbrough to express an interest in taking him to England's top flight. But he eventually moved to Championship outfit Cardiff in 2008 under freedom of contract, with Motherwell receiving a small development fee because of his age. McCormack made his full international debut in May that year and started Scotland's last two World Cup qualifiers against Netherlands and Iceland. Hull have had a frustrating summer search for a new striker. They were never going to be in the hunt for Owen once Sir Alex Ferguson made his surprise move for the England striker despite a disappointing season with relegated Newcastle. Hull manager Phil Brown thought he was in pole position to secure Fortune before the Nancy striker chose to be reunited with new Celtic manager Tony Mowbray, who he had played under last season while on loan to West Brom. The Tigers then looked poised to secure Campbell after having a £6m offer accepted by Man Utd - and had even discussed personal terms before the 21-year was wooed by Sunderland.

Hull's bid for Negredo collapses
Hull City chairman Paul Duffen says the club's £12m bid to sign Real Madrid striker Alvaro Negredo has collapsed. The Spaniard is understood to have turned down a move to the KC Stadium in favour of joining Sevilla. "It's one of those things - it doesn't make any difference to us at all," Duffen told BBC Radio Humberside. "In the nicest possible way it would've been something good to do. You move on, there's no time to shed tears for these things, it's just a reality." Negredo rejoined Madrid this summer after they exercised a buy-back option to bring him back from Almeria. City have publicly failed in bids to sign Michael Owen, Marc-Antoine Fortune and Fraizer Campbell this summer.

Hull City plan summer move for Crystal Palace's Danns
Hull City will make a renewed attempt to sign Crystal Palace midfielder Neil Danns at the end of the season. Danns, 28, is out of contract in the summer and head of football operations Adam Pearson told BBC Radio Humberside they were keen to sign him. "We were interested in Danns and he is someone we'll join the queue for to try and get," he said. "He is a free agent in the summer, is a goal-scoring midfielder and is a very good player." Meanwhile, Pearson also admitted an interest in 34-year old Fulham midfielder Jonathan Greening. "We were also interested in Greening when put a transfer request in," he added.

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