Intro:

Hull City manager Steve Bruce said on Friday that he is desperate to avoid the "second season syndrome" as his team prepare for their opening Premier League match of the new season at Queen's Park Rangers.

At his pre-match press conference Bruce also poured scorn on reports linking him with the buying of Danny Welbeck and Rafael van der Vaart.

Script:

SOUNDBITE: (English) :Steve Bruce, Hull City manager(On trying to avoid "second-season syndrome"):

"Well the clubs never been past it has it? And in my experience he second season is always the most difficult because the expectation has risen a bit. We've brought in four or five, six players to strengthen the squad. But everybody's expectation is that we are going to stay in the division comfortably. I am certainly aware that it is going to be difficult. This league and everybody else has improved their squads. If you look squad by squad they have all got bigger and better and we hope that we have done enough and certainly by the end of the window that we have done enough to make sure that we stay there."

SOUNDBITE: (English) Steve Bruce, Hull City manager (On speculation that he is to sign Rafael van der Vaart):
 
"Another load of rubbish. I've been linked I think with nearly a hundred players this summer and we've bought five. So I don't know what is happening in journalism or media at the moment or where it's going or how it's doing but it just seems to me that you just throw it out there and I have to answer questions on it and no that's not true."