Hull City v Brighton: Bruce out to emulate his father and boss with Cup glory

The Tigers’ manager had a message to impart, namely that the coming few days would, more than likely, go a long way towards defining how the Yorkshire club’s season is going to pan out.

No wonder, therefore, that just 24 hours later Bruce cut such a happy figure on the sidelines as Hull fulfilled the first half of his demands by beating Cardiff City to move on to 30 points.

The second half of the challenge laid down by the 52-year-old comes tonight when victory over Brighton & Hove Albion at the 
KC Stadium will put the Tigers through to the quarter-finals of the FA Cup for only the second time in 25 years.

“It is another big game,” admitted defender Alex Bruce in the immediate aftermath of Hull claiming their first four-goal victory on the road as a Premier League club.

“My old man said on Friday that this was a week that could define our season.

“We had a chance to get a win that would take us to 30 points and we could get through to the quarter-finals of the FA Cup.

“In this big week we have jumped one hurdle and now we have to negotiate the other.”

If Hull can go one better than a week ago and beat Brighton at the KC, a home tie against Sunderland will await Bruce’s men next month.

Win that and Hull will be into the semi-finals for only the second time in their history.

That previous appearance in the last four came in 1930 when Hull were beaten by Arsenal after a replay, but any fears of the Yorkshire club lacking in Cup know-how can be dismissed thanks to the presence of their manager in the dugout.

As a cornerstone of the Manchester United defence in the Nineties, Bruce played in four Cup finals and lifted the trophy three times.

Bruce junior was just a boy at the time, but he has vivid memories of those days out at the national stadium.

The 29-year-old defender said: “I have some great memories of the Cup. There are a few days that stand out, especially when I was fortunate enough to go to a few finals as a kid.

“The one that stands out was (in 1994) when Manchester United beat Chelsea 4-0. Eric Cantona got two penalties and that was a great day.

“A year later, we went again but United got beat by Everton. My dad pulled his hamstring after about 20 minutes.

“It meant he was like a statue on the goal-line when trying to keep Paul Rideout’s effort out of the net. He could not get off the ground.

“I would love to emulate that (success) and have a bit of glory myself. I have never played at Wembley before so it would be a dream come true for myself.”

Before Hull can dream properly of a second visit to the national stadium on the weekend of April 12-13, Brighton must be dispatched.

A week ago, Yannick Sabgo netted an 85th-minute equaliser to earn the Tigers a replay that their first-half display had barely warranted.

The manner in which the Seagulls set about Hull last Monday does, however, mean that the Premier League side are unlikely to be caught unawares again.

A repeat of Saturday’s emphatic win at Cardiff would do very nicely, especially with Hull again at home on Saturday when Newcastle United visit the KC in the league.

Alex Bruce added: “It was a difficult game against Cardiff and maybe the scoreline didn’t reflect how things were in the opening 20 minutes.

“It was backs-to-the-wall stuff for us at that time and we really had to pull together. We did that and then were very clinical.

“We want to be just as clinical in the Cup, which is a fantastic competition. A lot of people may say that it isn’t as important as it once was. But I don’t agree.

“As a player, I want to get to an FA Cup final and so do the rest of the lads.

“The supporters also want their day out at Wembley.

“That is why we will be treating Monday’s game very, very seriously.”

Should Hull progress, the time and date of the Sunderland tie will be confirmed almost immediately.

Only Arsenal v Everton (March 8, lunchtime) and Manchester City v Wigan (March 9, 4pm) have been announced so far.