Hull City’s Mike Phelan admits his under-strength team will struggle to compete
Caretaker-boss has just 13 fit players, no summer signings - and he faces ownership dilemma and fans' outrage
MIKE PHELAN has admitted that Hull City simply aren't up to Premier League standards.
The newly-promoted Tigers' caretaker-boss faces champions Leicester in the Saturday lunchtime opener after a dreadful pre-season.
Steve Bruce quit as manager, Hull have just 13 fit senior players and are yet to make a signing this summer.
Phelan has been left to pick up the pieces as he looks to press his own claims to take over the manager's position on a full-time basis.
Asked if he had a squad capable of competing with the champions, Phelan said: "I would say no, simply because of the injuries - and the injuries are not short term.
"Most of them are longer term than we expected.
"It's a small squad, but small squads before have worked well together.
"There definitely need to be additions to this football club."
Phelan admitted transfer plans have had to be completely redrawn after seeing a number of targets go elsewhere.
He said: "At the moment it is all purely picking up the phones, speaking to people and trying to find the targets.
"(We're chasing) new targets because people we went for earlier in the pre-season have now moved on and gone to other clubs.
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"We have to start again, I know it's a short window, the pressure is on now to do some business."
The uncertainty over the club's ownership has hardly helpep, although prospective buyers are set to be in attendance at the KCOM Stadium on Saturday.
A group of representatives for the potential owners visited Hull's training base in Cottingham earlier this week and it is understood talks are at an advanced stage.
The appearance of the potential new owners is set to coincide with a planned supporter protest against the Allam family's ownership.
Hull fans are set to be handed red cards to brandish before kick-off in a show of dissatisfaction at the way the club has been run.
Phelan's own future is likely to rest on those talks, but the former Manchester United coach insists he is up for the task.
"I feel as though I am ready for management," he said. "I've been an assistant for quite a while now.
"I've been in the lower divisions and I've been in the higher divisions so I have got the experience and it's just a case of everything in the background being sorted out as to what they want to do going forward. I'm sure we'll have further conversations about that."