Hull City 1 Sunderland 0: Bruce is left beaming as Tigers widen gap on his old Black Cats

The one statistic that mattered after Saturday’s KC encounter was that the Tigers emerged, as far as points go, double figures clear of the bottom two.

If third-bottom Norwich fail to pull out of their own nose-dive, then promoted Hull could easily be safe of the drop by Christmas.

The concern for both protagonists at the KC, however, must be their lack of goals as they have both yet to break into double figures and that must be a worry for Sheffield Wednesday, who have strikers Matty Fryatt (Hull) and Connor Whickham (Sunderland) on their loan sheet.

Bruce was far from in gloating mood after securing three points against the club who sacked him 20 months ago but he confessed: “It was a huge one for us. We’ve restored that 10-point gap over Sunderland, which, at this stage of the season, sounds easy to recoup but for teams at the bottom end of the table it’s very difficult to win three games and get a draw.

“We’ve got that above them and that’s all I was interested in. It was probably the first time this season we’ve gone in as favourites and with a bit of expectation on us.

“The most important thing for me is making sure we stay in this division. At the moment, we’re a quarter of the season gone and we’re in the top 10, which I didn’t think would be possible. Long may it continue.”

Bruce fielded three former Black Cats and all three were involved in important moments.

The first involved Paul McShane after Hull had taken a 25th-minute lead when lone striker Yannick Sagbo dived towards a whipped-in cross at the near post and his marker, Carlos Cuellar, could only divert the ball into the net with his head.

Central defender McShane appeared to get a shove and crashed into Keiren Westwood, who required lengthy treatment and soon had to groggily withdraw, leaving Vito Mannone to enter in goal to join another former Tigers player in Jozy Altidore.

Then, in stoppage time, Lee Cattermole’s reputation went before him but it was still a reckless lunge on former Black Cats player Ahmed Elmohamady which saw him walk towards the tunnel before Andre Marriner had even issued the red card.

To compound matters, Andrea Dossena then stamped on former Sunderland player David Meyler, who was lucky not to have his season ended by the challenge.

The dismissals only disguised how awful Sunderland had been but, to their credit, their re-shaped nine-man contingent got behind the ball after the break, restricted Hull to long-range attempts and almost grabbed a point when Adam Johnson latched on to a ball over the top only to be thwarted by a great block by goalkeeper Steve Harper.

Hull immediately advanced to the other end and Jake Livermore struck a post with a fine shot but that was as good as it got for the Tigers.

Sunderland also had some justification for stating that Robbie Brady should have walked for his flying challenge on Johnson as it was similar to Cattermole’s but Egyptian Elmohamady said of being on the receiving end in the centre circle: “Yeah, it was a nasty tackle. It hurt me and it was on my ankle but the most important thing is the three points.”

Fellow victim Meyler, who thanked fans from both clubs for their tweets of concern, said of his assault: “It wasn’t a clever challenge. I think I’ve been lucky. Listen, it happens. I have no complaints and I’ll let the FA deal with it but it was very sore in the second half and I couldn’t get round quite as well.”

Meyler had received a late call to the starting line-up when striker Sone Aluko, having being cleared of calf trouble, suffered a recurrence of the injury in the pre-match warm-up.

Bruce explained: “We don’t think it’s related to the Achilles but it’s the same leg and it’s down in that area.

“We’ll have to wait and see but it’s a bit of a concern to us because he’s the type, when the opposition goes a man down, to unlock a defence. Let’s hope it’s not serious.”

The Nigerian is out of contract at the end of the season and Bruce added: “We’ve made him a good offer, a fabulous offer, and he’s entitled to weigh it up. With the Bosman situation, I’ve seen this before. The ball is in his court.”

While Bruce has attacking issues, he is delighted with their defensive resolve, having conceded only one goal at home in five games and he reserved special praise for McShane, whom he dispensed with while in charge at Sunderland.

“He’s come back here and made himself a bit of a cult hero after a difficult time,” said Bruce of the Irishman partnering Curtis Davies in the heart of the back four.

“He’d been on loan a couple of times (at Barnsley and Crystal Palace) when we arrived but now we’re seeing him mature a bit.

“There was never any doubt about his ability but he’s got that red mist. We’ve been working on him to try and take that away. He’s been playing very well for us and it’s a fantastic turnaround he’s had for us.

“Supporters, up and down the country, will appreciate you if they see you giving everything. I should know, I made a living out of it for years!

“He’s not maybe blessed with the ability of some others but he gives you everything he’s got. Supporters always associate with that. He’s been criticised heavily as well but has rolled up his sleeves and fair play to him.”

Hull City: Harper, Rosenoir (Proschwitz 70), McShane, Davies, Figueroa; Elmohamady, Meyler (Koren 57), Livermore, Huddlestone, Boyd (Brady 76); Sagbo. Unused substitutes: Jakupovic, Gedo, Faye, Quinn.

Sunderland: Westwood (Mannone 43), Bardsley, O’Shea, Cuellar, Dossena; Larsson, Cattermole, Colback, Borini (Brown 46); Altidore (Johnson 46), Fletcher. Unused substitutes: Sung-Yeung, Gardner, Celustka, Giaccherini.

Referee: A Marriner (West Midlands).