Tigers are deserving of chance to join the top flight

STEVE BRUCE insists his Hull City side “deserve” to be within touching distance of automatic promotion.

The Tigers travel to Barnsley today knowing a victory will be enough to clinch a return to the Premier League after rivals Watford claimed a stunning 2-1 win last night at Leicester City.

A draw or loss, however, and the fight to join champions Cardiff City in next season’s top flight will go to the final weekend of the season.

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Bruce said: “This group of players deserve this chance. They have worked hard and won 24 games this season. Some of the football we have played, at least until the pitches started to wear, was wonderful.

“I have certainly enjoyed watching us this season because we have got players you would pay to come and watch. We just need one final push to get over the line.

“It has been a big achievement to get into this position and gel so quickly, especially with so many players still in their first season together. Lads like (David) Meyler, (Robbie) Brady, (Stephen) Quinn, (Ahmed) Elmohamady and (Sone) Aluko

“To also be hit by serious injuries to key personnel, well that would just add to the achievement.

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“Everyone has made a contribution. People like (Paul) McShane, (Jack) Hobbs, (Abdoulaye) Faye, Alex (Bruce), David Stockdale are all players who might not get the headlines but they have all done their bit.”

If City can claim the required victory from their final two games, Bruce’s attention will quickly turn to the recruitment that will need to be done over the summer.

Unlike five years ago when Hull went up via the play-offs, the club’s attempts to strengthen will be able to get underway immediately and Bruce believes that extra month can be crucial.

The Tigers chief, who in the past has taken Birmingham City into the Premier League via both the play-off and automatic promotion routes, said: “It is massive to give yourself those extra few weeks. The longer you have got to prepare, the easier it is.

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“I honestly don’t have any deals in place. I have never been one for counting my chickens, I am too superstitious for all that.

“But planning for the Premier League is huge. All sorts of meetings with the board are needed for any side going up. The sooner you can start that, the better.

“If you go up through the play-offs you are at a disadvantage because only when you go up can you get your planning under way. I can remember how difficult it was with Birmingham (when going up via the play-offs in 2002). Some of the deals had already gone without us.”

Promotion would be a personal vindication of Bruce’s decision last summer to accept the offer of becoming Nick Barmby’s successor at the KC Stadium.

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The former Manchester United defender admits coming to the East Riding has helped ease the pain of being sacked by Sunderland in November, 2011.

He said: “Certainly, when you get sacked or you lose a job in the Premier League, it hurts.

“I know how awful it is when you get the sack. People think ‘It doesn’t matter, they get paid lots of money’. But it is still a public sacking.

“Everyone has seen someone they know lose their job and it is one of the most degrading things that can happen to you.

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“People are essentially questioning you and saying you are not capable. That is not easy to take.”

On the job he has done at Hull, Bruce added: “When I look back to last summer the big questions were, ‘Do I still have the enthusiasm?’ and ‘Could I give it everything I had and do the job justice?’

“It was about building myself up, and about being fair to Hull City. But, in all honesty, I couldn’t really have envisaged it going this well.

“It has got the football club back on a high and it has got me back up and running. I have really enjoyed myself here.”

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The Oakwell clash between relegation-threatened Barnsley and Hull is one of several key Championship clashes today involving Yorkshire clubs.

Huddersfield Town travel to relegated Bristol City knowing even a draw could, depending on results elsewhere, be sufficient to secure their second-tier status.

Sheffield Wednesday are another club whose fate is in their own hands and Dave Jones’s men could be safe even before their tea-time clash at Peterborough United gets underway in front of the live Sky cameras.

Elsewhere, Leeds United play the final home game of Ken Bates’s reign as chairman, while Middlesbrough host Charlton Athletic.

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The undoubted game of the day, however, is at Barnsley where Hull are hoping to claim a 12th victory on the road and Bruce is expecting a tough encounter.

He said: “I have said it this season many times. Namely, the honesty and endeavour of the Championship is there for all to see and Barnsley will be preparing for this game to win it.

“They need the three points as much as we need them, though for completely different reasons. That in itself makes it an even bigger game but I am quietly confident.

“How many times have we gone away from home and shown that sort of resilience? It is what has got us in this position.”