Bruce: Poised to succeed Barmby

The former Sunderland boss, 51, is poised to succeed Nick Barmby, who was sacked by his hometown club last month after questioning the owners' ambitions in the media.

Bruce had been an early favourite with bookmakers to replace Barmby but only last week his agent Robert Segal confirmed the former Manchester United skipper had not been approached by the club and had not expressed an interest in becoming the Tigers' fifth manager in just short of 15 months.

But it now seems Bruce - out of a job since being sacked by Sunderland last November - is heading for the KC Stadium.