Tigers plan contract talks

Hull City manager Steve Bruce wants the club to offer players new contracts "as quickly as we possibly can".

Some 15 first-team players are currently in their final year at the KC Stadium and Bruce hopes to tie down key players but admits it will be a difficult task for Hull, who have one of the highest wage bills in the Championship. "I have got a meeting with the owners next week and we have got 15 people out of contract in less than 12 months' time. And that is mind-blowing," Bruce told the Yorkshire Post. "There is going to be a lot of work needed to be done over the next six to nine months. In management you need to be prepared and it is not healthy when you have so many in their last year. "There are some who have been on Premier League money. We know who they are, and we will have to sit down with the owners and see where we go." He added: "We will start putting things into motion soon but the last thing you want to see is your best players leaving for free. We want to tie those up as quickly as we possibly can."