Foreign legion suits Hull

The modern face of the Premier League is best represented when one studies the cosmopolitan nature of a club like Hull City.

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DUBAI // The modern face of the Premier League is best represented when one studies the cosmopolitan nature of a club like Hull City. Phil Brown said it is a big change from his own playing days of the 1980s and 1990s. There were times in the past when Hull would have considered going beyond the East Riding of Yorkshire to snag a Scotsman or an Irishman as an international delicacy.

Brown will not attempt to guess the team he will put out at Sheffield United in the last 16 of the FA Cup on Saturday until tomorrow. He awaits news on how several players report back from excursions overseas. It was the performance of the Brazilian forward Giovanni that excited Brown during Hull's 0-0 draw with Chelsea. "Giovanni knows that if he puts a shift in, he has the ability. This season he has got to grips with the Premier League," said Brown.

"We are not quite the classy team that can afford to get the ball to him and carry him, but if 11 players put a shift in then he can blossom. He was one of the top men on Saturday, the icing on the cake." Brown wants to be managing Hull in "six or seven years". He would like to progress the club to meet the expectations of supporters. Brown is of a mind that English managers should be looking to re-establish themselves abroad.

"I did my Pro Licence coaching badge so I could manage a Premier League club and manage abroad," he said. "That is one of my ambitions. Why not? Look at the days of Terry Venables and Bobby Robson at Barcelona. Why not export good English managers, who are all technically gifted, and turn a foreign team into an English team in their own division." dkane@thenational.ae