Steve Bruce has claimed that his primary ambition this season is to reach the group stages of the Europa league. Hull City are in with a shout to reach the latter stages of this Europa league competition after reaching the FA Cup final last season. Even though they were defeated by Arsenal in the final, the prospect of European football to a club that were promoted to the Premier league only last summer sounds enticing to the manager. It would clearly be one of the biggest matches for Bruce if he was to take the club to the group stages of the Europa league.
Recognising that the club and his career are on the brink of something great, Bruce has revealed that he will be putting his entire focus on the upcoming play-off matches. Their third qualifying round will see them take on AS Trencin from Slovakia. Bruce has been openly admitting that he does not know the opponents he will be up against. This is largely because European football is new to the former Manchester United defender. Hull City have been used to playing in the domestic leagues only.
Reaching the stage of the competition will provide the club with a lot of finances. They may not be rewarding to top clubs, but for a club like Hull, progression means a lot.
“Our goal is to get into the group stage, where we could face some of the big names in European football. That is the carrot for us, in terms of why we need to make sure we get through both qualifying rounds if at all possible. That is what I will tell the players. This tie is a step into the unknown in a lot of ways, we will just have to wait and see. That, to me, is the beauty of Europe anyway. It isn’t all about Spain, Italy or Germany,” said Bruce.
