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Bruce bemoans hectic schedule

Hull manager Steve Bruce was left to bemoan the "ridiculous" festive fixture programme after his side were struck by injury problems at the worst possible time.


The Tigers won praise for their wholehearted performance against Manchester United on Boxing Day, taking a 2-0 lead inside just 13 minutes before eventually being reeled in as the champions ran out 3-2 winners.


And if the result was hard to take, the physical effect on Bruce's squad simply rubbed salt into the wounds.


Goalkeeper Allan McGregor, who collided with Ashley Young early on and never fully recovered, and in-form midfielder David Meyler both came off with knee injuries at half-time against United and appear to have no chance of taking part in Saturday's home clash with Fulham.


Alex Bruce finished the game but was not fully fit by the final whistle, while a number of other players carried on with knocks.


Having not won in five Barclays Premier League outings, Hull boss Bruce sees the visit of relegation battlers Fulham as a key fixture but could be forced to ring the changes.


"Both McGregor and Meyler have knee injuries," said Bruce.


"Meyler is a concern because it is the same knee he's injured before when he was out for a long time.


"McGregor's came from a challenge by Ashley Young that went unpunished. It looked late to me.


"He's got a nasty one. They'll both have X-rays and scans.


"Alex has a calf problem and there were one or two others with knocks at 90 minutes too.


"But we have to go again with this ridiculous schedule we have to play.


"Two games in 48 hours...it's ridiculous when we have so much at stake, but we have to recover and be ready for Fulham."


Meanwhile, Fulham boss Rene Meulensteen believes being a Premier League-winning captain and working for such a long period under Sir Alex Ferguson are two reasons Hull counterpart Steve Bruce is a well-rounded manager.


Meulensteen, who also spent several years working as a coach under Ferguson at Manchester United, takes his Fulham side to Hull looking to move out of the bottom three after a vital Boxing Day victory at Norwich.


Bruce won three Premier League titles during a nine-year spell at Old Trafford and was always highly regarded by Ferguson before moving into management himself in 1998.


Since then he has had spells in charge of Birmingham, Wigan and Sunderland in the top flight before guiding Hull back in to the Barclays Premier League last season.


The Tigers sit 12th in the table after a 3-2 defeat at home to United on Boxing Day and Meulensteen feels Bruce's past experiences will continue to serve him well.


"Any manager that has worked or played under Sir Alex Ferguson will have remembered things that they will use," he said.


"I'm sure Steve will be no different at all, Sir Alex always wanted teams to play with a lot of endeavour and speed - you have to see what you have at your disposal but the intentions are there, you only have to look at Hull's 3-1 win over Liverpool.


"He has got his feet under the table in the Premier League, you have an experience of knowing how to play away at all the different grounds and it doesn't phase him any more.


"He has been there, seen it and done it, at different clubs and with different players - plus he has played in it himself which helps."


Meulensteen has reverted to playing Adel Taarabt as a lone forward in recent weeks to utilise his fit players as well as possible and believes Bruce is a master of chopping and changing his own side.


"I like Steve as a person and I know him really well, his transfers his charisma on to the pitch and into the players," he said.


"He has got them playing and isn't too afraid to experiment at times, with three at the back or the straight 4-4-2 or 4-4-1-1.


"What you can always say about Steve Bruce's team is that they are generally well organised and have a good energy about them and he gives them the freedom to play as well."


The late win at Norwich came with important players such as Dimitar Berbatov, Maarten Stekelenburg and Brede Hangeland missing through injury.


With the packed festive fixture list throwing up another game just 48 hours later, most of those ruled out at Carrow Road will still be absent at Hull but Meulensteen remains hopeful Berbatov could play some part at he KC Stadium.


"There is a chance that Berbatov will return," he said.

Hull V Man Utd - view commentary, squad, and statistics of the game live.


Bruce: Things will click for Moyes

Steve Bruce believes David Moyes is coping admirably with the task of stepping into Sir Alex Ferguson's shoes at Manchester United.


Hull boss Bruce, a former United captain under Ferguson and once considered a potential successor, has huge respect for the way Moyes has taken on one of the thorniest tasks in the game.


Replacing Ferguson, whose trophy haul and longevity at Old Trafford are unprecendented, has been described as an impossible task and, with the champions eighth in the table after winning just eight of their 17 games, Moyes has hardly enjoyed a straightforward start.


But Bruce, whose side host the Red Devils on Boxing Day, appreciates better than most the pressures of life at Old Trafford and believes the Scot will be a success given time.


"I think whoever had taken over would have needed a bit of time," he said.


"Sir Alex must be there in every closet, behind every door you open. Thankfully they have shown what kind of a club they are, giving David a six-year deal. They will give him time and rightly so. The change has happened and I think we're all getting used to seeing David standing there now.


"It's never easy to follow someone like Sir Alex, with the record he's got. But he's an outstanding manager, David, and it's just a matter of time before things click into place.


"He'll have to have his own stamp on it, like anyone in management, but he's proved over the years what a good manager he is. He's a football man and all of us in the game, us British ones at least, are delighted that the big, top job has gone to somebody like him because he deserves it."


Whether or not Bruce can put a fresh spanner in the works for Moyes, who has overseen four consecutive wins in all competitions since losing successive matches against Everton and Newcastle, could depend on his defenders.


The Tigers have conceded the fewest goals in the league on home turf - just three in eight matches - an unlikely statistic for a promoted side and also a point of some pride for former centre-half Bruce.


He accepts his back-line, led impressively by skipper Curtis Davies and directed by Scotland goalkeeper Allan McGregor, must be at their best once more to keep United quiet but they have previous this season - with the prolific Luis Suarez quiet during Liverpool's 3-1 defeat in East Yorkshire earlier this month.


"We've been good defensively and we'll need to be good again because with Manchester United coming to town they can score from all sorts of areas," he said.


"Rooney, Welbeck, Hernandez, Valencia, Cleverley, Jones, Smalling...take your pick because the list is endless. They've got big players who want to win, want to entertain and want to beat you: that's not going to change.


"They have found a bit of form, as you would expect, and they were convincing winners (3-1 over West Ham) at the weekend. So it's one where there is no real expectation on us, it's all on them.


"We have to make sure we play well. We did that against Liverpool and caught them on an off day. We have to enjoy the occasion and enjoy the challenge of facing Manchester United.


"So let's not have too much turkey at Christmas and put up a really good display."


Bruce could field the same starting XI for the fourth Barclays Premier League match in a row.


With Robbie Brady (groin) unlikely to be fit to face his former club, Bruce may keep faith with a side that has drawn against Swansea, Stoke and West Brom.


Sone Aluko (Achilles) and Stephen Quinn (hamstring) are both certain absentees.


Adnan Januzaj seems to be following the Cristiano Ronaldo route to stardom at Manchester United.


Just like Ronaldo, Januzaj has burst onto the first-team scene at the age of 18 with a series of dazzling performances.


As with the Portugal superstar, the teenager has become an instant favourite of the Old Trafford faithful.


And, just as Sir Alex Ferguson had to do with Ronaldo, so Moyes has needed to step in and deliver some words of advice to try and curb a tendency to go down too easily.


Yet, as with Ronaldo, Moyes offers a stern defence of a player who has twice been booked for diving, the latest card arriving against West Ham on Saturday, and has now become, on a game for game average, the most fouled player in the Premier League.


"I can only say what I see," said Moyes. "In the previous games he has been getting kicked from pillar to post and the referees have been quite happy to let that go.


"They have not been too bothered about doing anything about it.


"The boy was wrong with what happened on Saturday and we have told him about it. But we all make one or two mistakes and the boy will learn as he gets older.


"The thing is, when you are getting kicked all the time and folk are lunging into tackles into you, sometimes you have to jump out of the way or you are going to get hurt.


"That is what I continually say. I just hope it doesn't take a sore one before people start doing something about it."


A decade ago, Ferguson was saying very similar things about Ronaldo.


And while Moyes fought shy of comparing the two, it is an obvious reference point for what could be achieved by Januzaj.


"Some people need to realise this is a young talent," said Moyes. "At the moment they are kicking him but it is right, they also kicked Ronaldo and look at the player he went on to be.


"Adnan will also go on to become a great player in time.


"At the moment the job is to make sure he is able to play."


With Robin van Persie almost certain to miss out with a thigh injury and Danny Welbeck a doubt due to the bang on the knee that forced him out of Saturday's win over West Ham, Moyes is likely to be relying on Januzaj to some extent at Hull on Boxing Day.


For Hull's record of conceding just three goals on home soil this term is the best in the Premier League, with only Manchester City even getting close.


"It is a great record," said Moyes.


"In this league you have either got to score plenty of goals or not concede them, it is one or the other.


"As far as Steve Bruce is concerned, it means he has a good base and his team are hard to beat.


"It gives him a platform to play off and means he can hope the odd goal wins him matches.


"It will be a tough game that's for sure but we have got ourselves on a winning run and hopefully we can continue that."


Danny Welbeck is a doubt for Manchester United's Boxing Day trip.


Welbeck suffered a bang on the knee during Saturday's win over West Ham and, though fears of a repeat of the injury that ruled him out earlier in the season have been dispelled, he is in a race to be fit for the KC Stadium.


Michael Carrick (Achilles) and Robin van Persie (thigh) are unlikely to be involved and Marouane Fellaini (wrist) is definitely out but Anders Lindegaard should be back after a hip problem.