Players distracted by uncertainty - Phelan

Hull caretaker manager Mike Phelan believes the players have been distracted by the ongoing uncertainty surrounding the club.

The Tigers are without a permanent manager since Steve Bruce stepped down just three weeks ahead of the new Premier League season following a breakdown in his relationship with vice-chairman Ehab Allam.

They had hoped to appoint a manager early this week but there search goes on with Gianfranco Zola the current favourite to take over at the KCOM Stadium after the Football Association of Wales rejected the club's approach for Chris Coleman.

Their preparations for the new season have been hampered by a lengthy injury list and the lack of a permanent manager means the club has done little in the way of transfer business and Phelan admits the squad have been distracted by the unrest.

"They've all gone about their work professionally. They're getting there and they're a bunch of lads who respect the fact they're footballers with a job to do," Phelan explained.

"You would have to ask the players if they've been distracted. It would be hard to say they haven't, they're only human. Things like this are difficult but you blank it out as much as possible and do the job you're here to do. The other matters will take care of themselves. They're out of our control.

"This is pre-season, this is the build-up to what is going to be a hard, hard season, probably made extremely harder by the fact we've got a small squad of players."

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