Bruce to make wholesale changes for Europa League

Steve Bruce intends to field a weakened starting XI in the UEFA Europa League, as long as Hull City are involved in the competition.

The KC Stadium outfit claimed a 2-1 aggregate victory over Trencin to book a place in the play-off round, where they will face Lokeren of Belgium, beginning with the away leg on Thursday.

However, Bruce has confirmed that all players who miss out on a starting berth for Hull’s Premier League opener at QPR on Saturday will be given their chance in the Europa League.

“I’ve come to the conclusion that whoever doesn’t play [on Saturday] will play on Thursday,” he announced.

Asked whether he would adopt the selection policy for the duration of the tournament, Bruce said: “Yes.

“We did it last week in Stuttgart where we played a team against Trencin on the Thursday and then totally changed the team.

“It’s one way of playing the squad and it’s the only way really that we can do it.

“I’ve got people who’ve served me handsomely here for years – [Paul] McShane, Alex [Bruce], [Liam] Rosenior, [Stephen] Quinn, [George] Boyd – all of these people who might not be playing [Saturday], but will play on Thursday.

“They deserve that because of what they’ve done for me.”