Hull to hold talks with boss Brown

TACKLING Hull City's debts is set to take priority over the appointment of a new manager, the club warned today as it began initial talks with its former boss.

Tigers manager Phil Brown was placed on gardening leave with nine games of the season remaining - Iain Dowie being placed in charge of team affairs on a temporary basis - and the 50-year-old has been in limbo ever since.

He remains on full pay, however, and resolving his 1.4million annual salary is one of the club's top priorities as they seek to stabilise their finances following relegation to the Coca-Cola Championship.

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The club's head of football operations Adam Pearson has put a proposal to players which would see them defer a proportion of their wages in the short term to ease the burden over the summer months, with players discussing those plans with the Professional Footballers' Association earlier today.

The club themselves, meanwhile, were busy meeting with Brown, who was accompanied by League Managers' Association chief executive Richard Bevan.

Bevan was reluctant to go into detail over the content of the talks, confirming only that "initial discussions" had taken place.

He said: "There is little more I can add. It was a meeting to discuss the process and any further statement will have to come from the club."

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There was positive feedback however from the squad's meeting with the PFA - represented by former Tigers defender Richard Jobson - at the club's Cottingham training ground.

Pearson's proposal would see players' wages reduced by a reported 30% in the short term, on the understanding they would be fully repaid once the club's finances are back on a more even keel.

Those players whose contracts contain wage cuts based on relegation have also been asked to bring those reductions forward from the end of June.

PFA deputy chief executive John Bramhall said: "It is out there that the club have made that request and that process is ongoing as we speak.

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"The players are broadly in favour of looking to help and support the club moving forward. Within the principle of that request, the players are looking to see if they can work with the club on that basis."

The PFA are now awaiting full details of the East Yorkshire club's financial situation to determine the likely timescale of any deferment, and how soon the shortfall would be made up, before formulating their advice to the players.

Hull have debts of around 35million and, following their relegation from the Premier League, are seeking to ease the burden by reducing their 38.9million wage bill to somewhere in the region of 15m by the start of their Championship campaign.

Chairman Russell Bartlett claims the figure will automatically fall to 21m on June 30, when some contracts and loan deals end and any wage cut clauses come into effect.

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High-earning midfielder George Boateng and on-loan USA striker Jozy Altidore are among those whose deals are at an end, while full-back Bernard Mendy revealed earlier this month that he can leave on a free transfer due to a clause in a contract reported to be worth around 25,000 per week - and is keen to do so.

Bramhall added: "We're awaiting full clarification of the figures and those are on their way. We've spoken to all the players, we're now fully aware of the situation with regards to contracts etc, it's just the financial details from the club that we're waiting for. Once we have all the information we can better advise the players on this situation.

"In many situations in the past where clubs have been in similar financial positions, the players have been prepared to work with the club and move forward and if it's a justifiable case, then the PFA would support them in that.

"We're dealing with Adam and we're in regular contact with him and moving forward on that basis. When we look at the club's finances we'll be in a better position to assess that (timescale), that's going to form part of the discussions.

"As soon as we get the information, we'll be in contact with the players, so that's going to be happening over the next few days."