Hull City V Scunthorpe United: Rosenior back in business with the Tigers

Jeremie Aliadiere, Lee Hendrie, Francis Jeffers and Russell Hoult were just a few of the more notable inclusions in the 31 pages of out-of-contract players looking for a new club.

It served as a sobering illustration of how the global recession had impacted on football, leading to all but the very richest of clubs choosing to cut their cloth and pare squad-sizes down to the bare minimum.

Another familiar name included in the list of those looking for employment was Liam Rosenior, who had been released by Reading during the summer after spending much of the previous campaign on loan at Ipswich.

It seemed the former England Under-21 international with almost 100 Premier League apperances to his name was in danger of being cast into the footballing wilderness – especially when the season subsequently got underway with him still not having found a club.

Not so, says Rosenior, who eight days ago joined Hull City on a short-term deal until January and will today make his home debut in the Humber derby against Scunthorpe at the KC Stadium.

He said: "I know some people may have thought I was struggling to find a club but I actually had seven or eight offers very early on, one of which was from a newly-promoted Premier League team.

"There were also some big clubs interested so I decided to take a gamble and wait. The Premier League clubs wanted to wait until finalising their 25-man squads before making a decision and because I want to play at the highest level I decided to see what happened.

"Unfortunately, things didn't materialise and by September most teams in the Championship didn't need a right-back as they had one already.

"I had been to Bristol City in the summer out of respect for the manager Steve Coppell, whom I had enjoyed working with at Reading. They offered me a contract.

"Unfortunately, news leaked out that I was there and it was described as me being on trial, which is something I wasn't happy about as I wanted everything kept quiet. I was only there to look round the club as a free agent.

"After that, all I could do was bide my time and wait for something to come up. It meant I trained on my own for much of the summer, though I did have a month at QPR. They also offered me a contract but already had two right-backs and I wanted to go somewhere that I could play.

"That was why I was so pleased when Nigel Pearson got in touch."

Rosenior's Tigers debut came in last weekend's Yorkshire derby draw with Barnsley, just 24 hours after he had signed for the club.

It brought to an end a frustrating few months for the right-back, who had not played a competitive game since helping Ipswich to a 2-2 draw at Newcastle United on April 24.

Such an extended stint out of football seemed unthinkable just a few years ago when Rosenior was a mainstay of the Fulham side in the top flight and a regular with the Under-21s.

The defender had joined the Cottagers, a club where dad Leroy had three spells as a player, from Bristol City in November, 2003. He was subsequently loaned to Torquay, where he helped a team managed by his father clinch automatic promotion from the bottom division.

Once back at Craven Cottage, he forced his way into Chris Coleman's plans to become Fulham's first choice right-back – a mantle he held for the next three seasons.

A move to Reading followed in the summer of 2007 but he was unable to prevent Steve Coppell's side being relegated after just one season in the Premier League.

That experience is now being put to good use at Hull. He said: "The Hull lads, or at least those who were here last season, are probably suffering something of a hangover from relegation. We had a bit of it at Reading. But I still see plenty of potential here.

"I know the manager really well from when he was with the England Under-21s and he is someone I enjoyed playing for. It was why I was so delighted when Hull came in for me. It was great to be back playing but there is a lot more to come from me."

City's return to the second tier after two years in the Premier League has been a disappointment with the draw at Barnsley taking their tally of points to 14 from as many games. Despite that, Rosenior insists: "A couple of wins can change everything in this league. I saw that at Ipswich. I joined after eight games and it was another eight before we won a game.

"But, by March, Ipswich were only seven points off the play-offs. That is what it is like in the Championship. It is wide open and I look at the Hull squad and think we can be involved in the promotion race."