Hull City are in dire straits, two points from safety with only one game to go and unfortunately for The Tigers that game happens to be against Manchester United.

Facing the Red Devils needing a win is an arduous task for any side, let alone one struggling at the lower reaches of the Premier League, however when you factor in their manager the task becomes an even greater one.

Steve Bruce is quite rightly regarded as a legend at Old Trafford, during his nine year playing career in Manchester he was a pivotal part of Sir Alex Ferguson’s team that finally recaptured the English crown for the first time in a generation.  His two goals against Sheffield Wednesday have gone into folklore for the Red Devils and he is always promised a hero’s welcome when he returns.

His managerial career, although not in the same realms of success as his playing career, has done little to turn United fans against their former skipper; in 17 years of management he has failed to register a solitary victory over his former employers.

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Over the past few years, particularly during the Ferguson administration, a Steve Bruce team playing Manchester United was as much of a banker as possible.

He simply does not beat them, in truth he has rarely got close; rather than be committed to get one over his former club; his team’s performances have resembled more of a dog waiting for their belly to be tickled before trotting off home with their tail between their legs.

However, if Bruce is to save Hull’s Premier League status and potentially his own job, he must buck a trend that is nearly two decades old. He can no longer see United as his old team, for one afternoon, in football terms, they are the enemy.

Of course the sounds coming from the boss are positive; he is ready to upset the applecart, he recognises that he has got to turn the tables himself.

As well as his own humiliating record against Louis van Gaal’s troops, the club itself don’t possess a particularly great one themselves. Not since 1974 have The Tiger’s managed to best the most successful side in English football.

Add to that they have never won a Premier League match in May and find themselves on a run where they have picked up two wins from their last 11 games and the odds are far from favourable.

Bruce will be hoping that Arsenal can do him a favour and secure third spot before this weekend’s final round of fixtures. A care free United may finally be able to do one of their great servants a favour. For seventeen years of ‘gimmes’, for three Premier League titles, for three FA Cups and for one League Cup, he has done enough to believe the universe, and Old Trafford owe him one.

If he is to overcome his own personal record, his club’s historical record and their wretched run of form, it may prove to be one of the great escapes. It is time for Bruce to stand up and be counted, finally.

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