Hull City were relegated from the Premier League on Sunday after drawing 0-0 at home to Manchester United on a final day of the season marked by high-profile departures.
Hull, beaten FA Cup finalists last season, needed to beat United to stand any chance of staying up, but their failure to do so left them three points adrift of safety.
Newcastle United were the only other team at risk of relegation, but they secured their top-flight status with a 2-0 victory at home to West Ham United.
SSTEVE Bruce was quick to accept that it’s going to be a busy summer in the transfer market following relegation but he has to make all of the departing players leave on Hull City’s terms.
You’ve got to be brutally honest and accept plenty will not fancy playing in the Championship.
Players like Abel Hernandez, Dame N’Doye and Nikica Jelavic immediately come to mind and it would be in City’s best interests to move them on this summer for as much money as possible.
You could dig your heels in and make them stay but you’d only end up with an unhappy player who’s going through the motions. That’s no help to anyone.
The important thing is to make sure the players you want to keep can be convinced to stick around in the Championship, even if there’s interest from a higher level.
Three players who fit into this category for me are James Chester, Robbie Brady and Ahmed Elmohamady.
Since helping City into the Premier League a couple of years ago, they’ve all shown themselves to be at home in the top flight. It wouldn’t surprise me if bids came in for any of them but City can make a big statement of intent by stressing they are not going anywhere.
You look at Chester, Brady and Elmohamady and they were all a big part of the club’s promotion in 2013-13.
They’ve since improved as players and you could be sure they’d do a brilliant job for you in the Championship.
Elmohamady and Brady could be two of the best wide men in the division and there won’t be many better central defenders than Chester. If silly money came in for any of them you’d have to consider it but you could send a strong message to the rest of the Championship by keeping those players here.
They might not like it, they might think they’re Premier League players now.
