Can Hull City become a Premier League mainstay?

Can Hull boss Steve Bruce help make Hull a Premier League mainstay?

Hull City enjoyed a very good campaign last season.

The Tigers made it to the FA Cup final and finished 16^th place in the Premier League table.

I think most Hull fans would have accepted that prior to the start of the season.

Survival

Having been promoted to the Premier League the previous season, Hull’s main aim last season was surviving in the top-flight.

They not only did that, but also made it to Wembley, where they took an early two goal lead against Arsenal, only to lose 3-2 in extra-time.

Outstanding

One of the main men behind Hull’s success has been boss Steve Bruce. The former-Manchester United centre-back has done an outstanding job at Hull. In fact the job he has done at Hull is probably his best performance in his managerial career.

Bruce did well to get Hull promoted and did even better to keep the Tigers in the top-flight and guide them to the FA Cup final. Bruce did a good job getting the club from Humberside into the top-flight on a relatively small budget.

Bruce was then handed a bigger transfer kitty last summer and in January to improve the quality of players at the club.

He spent it very wisely by bringing in the likes of Curtis Davies and Tom Huddlestone last summer, who turned out to be two of the Tigers most consistent players. There were even calls for the pair to receive call-ups to the England squad ahead of the World Cup.

In January, Bruce was backed again in the transfer market and he brought in international strikers Shane Long and Nikica Jelavic, both of whom scored vital goals towards the end of the season.

Summer

This summer will be a vital one for Hull in the transfer market. The Tigers have already secured the permanent signing of midfielder Jake Livermore, who impressed while on-loan from Tottenham last season and look set to strengthen their squad further.

Hull is being linked with a number of players this summer. One of them is Norwich’s Scotland winger Robert Snodgrass, who has been one of the Canaries stars in recent seasons. With the side from Norfolk set for life in the Championship, Snodgrass looks set to return to the Premier League.

In fact reports this morning suggest that the Tigers have agreed a fee of around £8million for the winger. Snodgrass could be a very shrewd addition to the Hull squad. The Scottish international has established himself as a very decent Premier League player at Carrow Road in recent seasons and scored seven times in the top-flight last season.

One of Hull’s other targets is reportedly Spurs centre-back Michael Dawson. The former- England international defender is rated in the £4million bracket and new Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino is believed to be ready to reshape his team, including his defence, which could mean a possible exit for Dawson.

The centre-back is often criticised by Tottenham fans for not being mobile enough. However, he is a good solid centre-back, who has a lot of experience in the top-flight. I do not think the 30-year-old would be a bad addition to the Hull squad.

Hull are no doubt still looking at strengthening their squad ahead of the new season. The permanent signing of Livermore was a good start to their summer transfer business. However, Livermore is unlikely to be the last player into the club this summer.

The Tigers could play even more games next season, as they qualified for the Europa League through getting to the cup final. Hull will need a bigger squad to compete on all fronts.

Survival

If Hull’s transfer business is as good as their business in their last two windows then the Tigers maybe looking up rather than down next season. However, their primary aim has to be to stay in the Premier League next season.

The bookmakers have Hull as fourth favourites for the drop behind the three promoted teams at odds of 5/2. However, with the way that Steve Bruce has gone about the job at Hull and the prospect of new signings at the KC Stadium it would be very unfair to write-off the Tigers hopes of survival next season.

Can Hull City become a Premier League mainstay?