The Tigers had been hoping to bring Manchester United striker Fraizer Campbell and Bolton Wanderers' Kevin Davies to the KC Stadium but it appears the pair will both be staying with their respective clubs.

It means City manager Phil Brown, who is still hoping to conclude a deal for Wigan Atletic's Marlon King despite the delay caused by the striker being unable to agree a severance package, will have to look elsewhere to bolster his attacking options ahead of the new season.

The danger with the opening game against Fulham being just 12 days away is that Hull, who were yesterday beaten 1-0 by Hearts in a low-key friendly at Tynecastle, may be forced to pay an inflated fee to bring in a new face or two. Duffen is adamant that will not happen, however, with the Tigers chairman insisting the club's patient approach will continue and pay off in the next couple of weeks.

He told the Yorkshire Post: "There are a couple we have not managed to reel in yet but at the moment the transfer market is like a poker game.

"And because we are the whipping boys to some extent in terms of finance then we have to make sure we do not panic.

"We have to have balls, like you do in poker. All that matters is the end result. The manager has already said to me he would be happy to start the season with what he has got now.

"Though, having said that we do want to add to the squad and I would not be surprised if we did some business in the next couple of weeks."

As revealed by the Yorkshire Post last Friday, City had lodged a £1.5m bid for Davies but were waiting for a response from Wanderers.

Gary Megson has, however, since turned the offer down and is hoping to agree a new deal with the 32-year-old whose current contracts runs out in 2010.

Campbell, meanwhile, seems destined to remain at Manchester United after capping an impressive pre-season by scoring in the weekend's win over Espanyol at Old Trafford.

The 20-year-old's form has been such that Sir Alex Ferguson said after Saturday's game: "Fraizer's future is here. We do not have any strikers apart from Wayne Rooney and Carlos Tevez and Frazier plays in that area.

"He took his goal really well and that won't do him any harm. He is a progressive young player. He is quick and determined and he can do very well in the game."

Campbell spent most of last season on loan at the KC and City had been hoping to secure his return either on loan or in a permanent deal.

Duffen said: "Fraizer did not do himself any harm against Espanyol on Saturday. And I would not expect Sir Alex to say anything else at this stage. All we can do is respect Manchester United's wishes but make sure Sir Alex is not in any doubt as to our interest in Fraizer. We will just have to bide our team and be patient.

"As for Kevin Davies, he is someone we did put a bid in for but Bolton have made it quite clear he is not for sale. We have respected that and have not made another bid. It is my belief that Kevin will be signing an extended contract to stay at Bolton."

City's need for a striker was underlined in yesterday's friendly when a lack of a cutting edge helped Hearts claim a comfortable win.

Adopting the 4-5-1 formation that Brown has favoured throughout pre-season with Caleb Folan and Dean Windass having 45 minutes each as the lone striker, the Tigers found it difficult to create chances against the Scottish Premier League side.

Geovanni, playing just behind the front man before being replaced midway through the second half when Hull reverted to 4-4-2, came closest to scoring with two thunderous 35-yard free-kicks that Steven Banks did well to beat away.

That and an Andy Dawson free-kick apart, City were comfortably contained by a home defence marshalled superbly by Christophe Berra.

The only goal came on 32 minutes when the Hull defence failed to deal with a cross from the left by Ruben Palazuelos that was headed firmly into the net by Audrius Ksanavicus.