Guest writer Ollie Harsley looks at assistant managers and new signings in his first blog post for HCST.

Hull City fans will be delighted with the news that is being reported today as Mike Phelan has reportedly agreed to become Steve Bruce’s new number two. Phelan has previous experience of winning Premier League titles as assistant to Sir Alex Ferguson, so should bring the valuable experience needed to fight against the danger of relegation. However, Mike Phelan will officially join the club from the 1st of February so Hull will have to prepare for Saturdays game against Newcastle without Phelan there as an influence.

One other worrying issue is the fact that this January transfer window has been unusually quiet for Hull City and as the days tick away it becomes even harder to see the club actually bringing any new additions in. The club have to comply with financial fair play rules which means they have to sell before they can buy and therefore don’t have sufficient funds to search for the player that will reinvigorate Hull City’s season.

A number of names have been linked with moves to the KC Stadium these include Rudy Gestede of Blackburn Rovers and most notably Aaron Lennon of Tottenham Hotspur. There were reports that talks were ongoing over Gestede however, nothing has ever materialised since then. You expect that in Lennon’s case it could end up as a loan deal as it seems Mauricio Pochettino will not stand in the winger’s way if he wants to leave to get first team football.

One name that I think would be a very good addition to the team would be Daryl Murphy who currently plays for Ipswich Town in the Championship. Murphy is currently one of the top goal scorers in the Championship and his form this season has been terrific. A move however, could be hampered by the fact that Ipswich are challenging for promotion this season and therefore would be very unwilling to let Murphy leave for a very cheap fee.

After today, there will be 5 full days of the transfer window left and whatever Steve Bruce decides to do in this time will have a decisive effect on Hull City’s season. Even if no business is completed over the next few days expect transfer deadline day to be a very busy one for Hull City.